A Partial History 135th Infantry Regiment 34th Infantry Division Approved for Publication Allied Force Headquarters Information News and Censorship Section THE GOTHIC LINE (pp. 31-33) The month of September was to find the 135th Infantry [Regiment] in the fulfillment of another important task, that of penetration and breaking of the enemy's heavily fortified Gothic Line. This achievement marked the anniversary of a year's combat in Italy and nearly two and one-half years overseas duty for the Regiment. The Regiment moved to Galluzzo on the outskirts of Florence on the night of 4 September, and on 8 September went through the city to an area near Sesto Fiorentino, a northwesterly suburb of Florence. On 11 September the Regiment proceeded to an assembly area near Barbarino, was subjected to scattering enemy artillery fire, and on the next day the 2nd and 3rd Battalions went forward passed through the 168th Infantry. It was a day of severe losses for the 3rd Battalion. As the unit's command group moved into an assembly area, a German "Schu" mine field was encountered and the Battalion Commander. Lt. Col. Harry Y. McSween, was seriously injured by a mine. More mines exploded in the attempts to aid him and others injured included Captain Luther L. Doty, Jr., S-3; 1st Lt. Jake Gabbard, Heavy Weapons [Company] Commander; and 1st Lt. Leslie K. Vensel, Commander of Company I. The losses in battalion leadership on the eve of battle were felt very keenly because of the experience and ability of these officers. Major Allison Conrad, the 3rd Battalion executive officer, temporarily assumed command until Lt. Col John W. Joyce was sent to replace Col. McSween. The Battalions were moving forward on 12 September toward Ciragnano in the face of stiff opposition. Enemy artillery fire was quite heavy but this was countered effectively by fire from supporting artillery. On 13 September it was learned from prisoners that the Regiment had encountered the outposts of the Gothic Line. It was learned, too, that this sector was defended by units of the 4th German Paratroop Division. In one instance Company L ran into pillboxes at the base of Hill 568 and hand grenades were exchanged at close range. All the companies were able to keep pressing on but the 3rd Battalion ran into the greatest resistance. Artillery on both sides was expending a large amount of ammunition. On 14 September the 2nd and 3rd Battalions attacked, the former having as its objective Hill 565. The enemy used a great amount of automatic weapons fire. The 1st Battalion passed through the 2nd, and the 3rd Battalion opened a second assault on Hill 671 where the enemy had managed to hold out the previous day. Casualties ran high on both sides. Company I alone lost 18 men wounded and 5 killed. The 3rd Battalion was not to be denied its objective and advanced under a rolling barrage. In one group of houses at Largnano a hand to hand fight developed with extensive use of grenades. This engagement was won primarily through the initiative and courage of 2nd Lt. Thomas W. Wigle who, although mortally wounded, continued to hurl grenades at the enemy and shout words of encouragement to his men. Inspired by his heroic leadership, they moved in to clear out the strongpoint. A posthumous award of the Congressional Medal of Honor was made to Lt. Wigle. Hill 671 was completely occupied the next day. The German paratroopers had displayed their traditional stubborn resistance and had made good use of extensive mine fields, barbed wire, concrete emplacements and dugouts. It required direct hits from artillery of heavy caliber to knock out many of the emplacements. With the capture of this mountain position the Gothic Line had been penetrated and the Regiment was now meeting the main defenses. Before the 1st Battalion jumped off in the direction of Mangona a lengthy artillery barrage, including heavy guns, was laid down with excellent results. The enemy was also employing fairly heavy artillery on our front line troops. The Gothic Line defenses had been discussed many times in the past. Prisoners of war had pointed out and stressed its formidable nature. They contended that this line would prevent the Allies from getting into the Po Valley and added that orders had been received from Hitler that the drive northward must be stopped at this position. All available intelligence indicated that the major undertaking on hand would require a maximum of skill, coordination, and aggressiveness in order to break the line. The Gothic Line positions in the vicinity of the Futa Pass, which the Regiment was flanking from the west, were as staunch and formidable as had been expected. The selection of commanding heights with tortuous and precipitous approaches had been scientifically welded into a defense line with all the expertness acquired by the enemy high command throughout its long defensive campaign in Italy. To increase the effectiveness of the forbidding terrain, the Germans had commandeered, through organization "Todt", Italian civilian labor to erect coordinated positions of steel and concrete pillboxes, and gun locations. The mountains presented problems of supply to the Regiment, and mule pack trains offered the only means of transporting the much-needed food and ammunition. Rations were often delayed because mules could not climb steep cliffs; casualties had to be hand-carried to the rear. Another serious problem was the maintenance of communication lines. After being ably assisted by heavy air and artillery preparations, 1st and 2nd Battalions resumed the attack on 16 September. The plan called for the 1st Battalion to move north and then block to the northeast; the 2nd Battalion to move from the vicinity of Hill 650 to the northeast and block in that direction. From these positions, the 168th Infantry was to pass through and attack to the northwest. A steady advance was made on that day and continued on 17 September despite mine fields, barbed wire entanglements and heavy fire from enemy automatic weapons. Staff Sergeant William E. Davis of Company G led his rifle squad in a frontal assault on an enemy pillbox located at the crest of a hill. Going through mortar, machine-gun and sniper fire, Sergeant Davis went ahead to cut the wire. He rushed to within hand grenade distance of the pillbox, killed two Germans, wounded another and captured 18. Later in the day while organizing a defensive position Sergeant Davis was killed by a sniper. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously. Another grievous loss was suffered by the Regiment when Capt. Kimble, commanding Company E, was also killed by a sniper. He had fought throughout North Africa and Italy, had been presented with the Distinguished Service Cross by General Clark and also had been awarded the Silver Star. The 3rd Battalion, moving up to Migneto on 18 September after a 30-minute artillery preparation, ran into a heavy enemy counterattack at Hill 749 and a fierce fire fight followed. The attack having failed, the Battalion was ordered to hold the ground for the night. The 1st Battalion was also encountering stiffened opposition. Our troops were extremely fatigued, having little sleep in the past 72 hours, and the supply problem continued to grow even more acute. The mules could hardly make their way over the trails and the company guides frequently lost their way because of the darkness and myriad paths. On 19 September the enemy increased his fire from machine guns, mortars and artillery and Company E, caught in a concentration, reported heavy casualties. The fight was becoming increasingly bitter with hand grenades exchanged in close contact. Forty-nine prisoners were taken by our troops in 24 hours. On the next day the 2nd Battalion encountered mine fields and it was not until 21 September that wounded from Company F were evacuated from the area, and Company G was able to work around the field. Engineers were used to clear a path through the mine field in order that caves in the vicinity could be searched. Among 11 prisoners taken were two members of an artillery observation team with their radio intact. It was a day to day, hill to hill fight against an enemy determined to exact as high a price as possible and prevent a breakthrough into the rich industrial valley of Northern Italy. The troops had to root the Germans out of each pillbox and dugout, and were harassed constantly by sniper fire from all sides. The advance was of necessity slow, preceded by much careful probing of the terrain, a task which taxed the endurance of every man. Flame throwers were used against some enemy positions. The Germans in their determination to cling to the mountains were throwing in engineering and air corps elements to replace the infantrymen on the line. As the Regiment advanced it was necessary to put very stringent traffic regulations into effect because of the narrow roads which could only permit one-way vehicular traffic in many places. The Germans complicated this by their many expert demolitions which required the construction of bridges and by-passes. Reports from prisoners on 24 September were to the effect that the enemy was withdrawing at several points because of the constant pressure against him and his heavy losses in men and material. At Roncobilaccio about 100 Germans withdrew and left large quantities of material in the town. Two 105mm artillery pieces were surrounded by our troops and could not be withdrawn. But most German soldiers put up a stiff, fanatical fight before being killed or taken prisoner. The 3rd Battalion launched attacks on 26-27 September against Bruscola and reached their objective at 0900 on the second day. The 1st Battalion, meeting little opposition, took over Fratte and then went on to enter Belvedere on the right and Cassellacco on the left. General Charles Bolte, commanding the 34th Division, informed Col. Manhart that he wanted the 1st Battalion on Mt. Bastione as soon as possible and on the following morning, despite rain, wind, and increasing cold, this was accomplished. The 3rd Battalion was moving forward now without opposition. With the fall of Mt. Bastione, the 2nd Battalion was committed through the 1st Battalion to exploit the successes gained. Exercising a vigorous and aggressive drive, the 2nd Battalion advanced 1500 yards past their objective to the vicinity of Fornelli. On 29 September the 168th Infantry had passed through the Regiment. The 3rd Battalion was assembled at Bruscoli and the 1st and 2nd Battalions were in the vicinity of Castell del Alpi. The Regiment passed into Division reserve.