10th Mountain Soldier’s letter home

Mike's article

86th Mountain Infantry in Italy, Charles Wellborn 86th Headquarter Company 1945.

Thursday, November 23, 1944 – Morrison is released from the hospital.  GEN Hays arrives at Camp Swift.

Thursday, November 23, 1944 – Monday, November 27, 1944 – On pass in Austin but is called back early.

Tuesday, November 28, 1944 – Morrison tells his family they will deploy very soon.

Wednesday, November 29, 1944 – The 86th left by trucks in the evening to board the train at Camp Swift. It had been a fast, unexpected movement. Jerked from a scarcely begun maneuver, the men of the 86th had boarded trains at Camp Swift, Texas, and sped across the eastern United States to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. There they had just had time enough to give equipment a lastminute check and make those all-important phone calls home.

Thursday, November 30, 1944 – The journey begins by train to Camp Patrick Henry.

Saturday, December 9, 1944 @ 2300 – Troops walked to a train that took them about 20 miles to Newport News, VA.

Sunday, December 10, 1944 @ 0000 – The 86th boarded the SS Argentina. No one had much time to think that morning. It was the 10th of December 1944, and a cold breeze swept across Hampton Roads. Every man was busy with his equipment. It was a (big) job to handle the overloaded pack and duffle bag that each man carried, to say nothing of the rifle, gas mask, and steel helmet. Somehow they managed to make it past the checker and up the slanting plank to the deck of the SS Argentina, a former luxury liner on the Caribbean run. Eventually each man found himself in a bunk and began to shed his equipment.

Sunday, December 10, 1944 @ 0800 – The 86th left port in the SS Argentina.

Sunday, December 10, 1944 – Friday, December 22, 1944 @ 2100 – The 86th journeys across the Atlantic. All in all, there was quite a bit to occupy a fellow who really wanted to find entertainment.  The first few days there was the newness of ocean travel—and probably a bit of seasickness. After that, there was a varied recreational program… movies on deck, or if you didn’t care for that, boxing bouts on promenade deck aft. On board were two USO units, and every night in the big troop mess, they performed for capacity houses. Every day, from noon until 2000 hours (8pm), the ship’s radio station, WARG, gave out with music, news and variety programs. When there was nothing else to do, men read, played endless hours of poker, or walked the deck, watching the waves or the other ships in the convoy.

Friday, December 22, 1944 – The Argentina dropped anchor near the port at Naples (arrived the 13th night)

Saturday, December 23, 1944 – The Argentina is pulled into port. Next morning, the mountain troops saw their first signs of war, as they gazed at rusty hulks of once-great ships that filled the harbor. They saw more of war’s after-effects as they were whisked through the oft-bombed streets of Naples to their first stop, the half-completed buildings of an orphanage in Bagnoli, a suburb of the great city. Bagnoli was a staging area, and the regiment was not to remain there long, for which most of the men were grateful. The marble floors they slept on were cold, and the rations were infinitesimal.

Saturday, December 23, 1944 – Sunday, December 24, 1944 – Morrison spends most of his time at the Red Cross.

Monday/Christmas, December 25, 1944 – 1st Battalion leaves with advance party by train at noon. December 25, Christmas Day, we had a dinner, and had turkey then got ready to leave at noon. We boarded train in Naples Christmas noon. It was cold and the train was just box cars but about half the size of our box cars at home. We had 25 men per car, it was crammed, but it was cold and everything was o.k. We even opened up the sides so we could look out. The car rode like a bucking horse, but I slept and did ok. I woke up when we passed Cassino, so I saw the rocks and rubble which was once a town. We went up to the outskirts of Rome only a mile away, we continued up to a station about 35 miles from Livorno (or Leghorn) then we got on trucks and rode up to Pisa. Two days after the landing, on Christmas day, the First Battalion and Headquarters. Company, minus the I & R [Intelligence & Reconnaissance] Platoon, left by train to serve as an advance party in a newly assigned area. The movement was delayed by a train wreck and had to be completed by truck.

Wednesday, December 27, 1944 – Sunday, December 31, 1944 – 1st Battalion bivouacked in staging area near Pisa, the Battle of Garfagnana was raging not far away.

Sunday, December 31, 1944 – 1st Battalion moved to bivouac in Quercianella. At 1600 on the last day of the year, the regiment moved out in truck convoy for its new bivouac area at Quercianella, just south of Leghorn on the coast.

Sunday, January 7, 1945 – 86th is on its way to the front, Morrison stays back due to knee injury. The advance party moved out of Quercianella January 7. They contacted Task Force 45, under whose control the 86th was to operate, and also the units to be relieved. On the 8th, the rest of the regiment began its departure from the bivouac area. By 1830 that night the three battalions were in their initial positions: the 1st Battalion in the vicinity of Castelluccio, the 2nd near San Marcello, and the 3rd in Bagni di Lucca. The 1st Battalion completed the relief of units of Task Force 45 at 0706 the next morning. At 1300 the regimental CP [Command Post] was opened in San Marcello. By nightfall, communication was set up, and the 86th had begun to function as a combat unit, holding its sector of the line.

Monday, January 8, 1945 – Friday - February 2, 1945 – 1st Battalion stayed on the front line, and it was generally quiet. 

Saturday, February 3, 1945 – Morrison is called to the front, joins 1st Battalion in San Marcello and then moves with the 86th Regiment to Lucca.  On February 2, the 86th was relieved by elements of the 87th and 85th regiments and reverted to Corps reserve. The troops were withdrawn to a training area in the vicinity of Lucca, and a CP was opened in a beautiful villa in the little hamlet of San Cassiano di Moriano. As the regiment rested and trained in its rear area near the old walled city of Lucca, there was a suspenseful and somewhat grim expectation in the air.

Wednesday, February 14, 1945 – Saturday, 17 February 17,  1945 – Regiment leaves by truck to the vicinity of Castelluccio, then marching toward the base of Pizo di Campiano (Riva Ridge.)  The 1st and 2nd Battalions detrucked in the vicinity of Castelluccio and moved out immediately. By midnight the long lines of trudging soldiers in the 1st Battalion had cleared Vidiciatico. Above their heads, piercing the pitch-black darkness like long fingers of molten steel were the powerful searchlights playing relentlessly on the slopes of Belvedere and Campiano. Between the columns of men rolled a steady column of jeeps and trucks, as supplies, ammunition and equipment moved up.

Saturday, February 17, 1945 – 1st Battalion rests, and prepares to take the Ridge.

Sunday, February 18, 1945 (Daytime ) – 1st Battalion sets up CP at Farne, 1st Battalion readies for the attack which is to start that night.  The 18th of February was a busy day, for officers and men alike. To maintain the element of surprise, men must stay under cover, but there was plenty to keep them occupied. Weapons were checked and double-checked, ammunition issued, equipment inspected. By now, every man knew “this was it.”…elaborate arrangements (were made) to ensure that the CP could keep in touch with everything that went on during the action. …positive information (was to be) reported as it occurred. Negative reports were to be made every half-hour. Methods of PW evacuation had been worked out, and in order to secure more information on the spot about enemy action, Division (was asked) for a prisoner interrogator. An IPW team of two men was immediately attached to the regiment.

Monday, February 19, 1945 - Company C takes their target - Mt. Serrasiccia. At 0505 Company C, which had the longest and hardest climb, finally settled down on Mt. Serrasiccia. The objectives were reached—with little fighting and with almost complete surprise. A few Grenades tossed into earthen pillboxes, a few pasty-faced trembling German prisoners, and the ridge that “couldn’t be taken” was ours. Now the problem was to keep it. …(by the early afternoon) Company C on Mt. Serrasiccia was fighting off a 40-man German counterattack. Forced to pull back off the crest, they called for artillery support, and the resulting barrage, including 83-mm and 60-mm mortar fire, temporarily broke up the attack. …A large group of Germans came out of cover with hands raised high as if in surrender. …(the) company held their fire and the Germans drew close to their positions. At the bottom of the little ridge on which Company C was dug in, the Germans suddenly fell to the ground, brought out their weapons, and opened fire. Company C had not been fooled, and the Germans gained nothing but numerous casualties from the trick. All day on the 20th, the 1st Battalion repulsed German attacks. Twenty-six dead piled up in front of one B Company position. Seven prisoners were taken, six of them mountain troopers. The evacuation of casualties from the Company B positions on Cappel Buso was especially difficult. Some litter cases took as long as 20 hours, but the litter bearers … worked night and day to get the wounded back to the collecting stations.

Tuesday, February 20, 1945 – On Mt Serrasiccia the fight continues, Morrison helps bring down the wounded on the tramway, in the early morning hours of Feb 20, LT John McCown is killed.
On Mt. Serrasiccia, Company C battled furiously. The artillery dropped 84 rounds on the enemy in that area with telling effect. Air support aided too, as planes swept down to bomb enemy installations not a hundred yards from the American lines, especially in the Rocca Corneta area. At 1300 on the afternoon of the 20th, Company C jumped off in a new attack along the Serrasiccia ridge. Despite the strong enemy resistance, partly shattered by a 15-minute artillery barrage including effectively timed fire, …(the company) gained (its) objective in 28 minutes, killing 4 enemy and forcing the remainder of the German force to withdraw.
            Excerpt from Blizzard – (Italy 27 February 1945)  “It cannot be understated the significance  that the 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion had in the battle for Riva Ridge. Casualty evacuations were difficult on all fronts of the war, but even more so in the mountains where         enemy fire, mortars and terrain combined for a constant threat of danger. Thanks to the
 skillful ingenuity of Company D, 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion, wounded men were
 transported to safety from an almost inaccessible mountaintop by cable tramway.
 Constructing an aerial tramway up the ridgeline was an unprecedent accomplishment in
 U.S. military history and undoubtedly saved many lives because it cut casualty evacuations from three to five hours down to several minutes.” At 1855 the first estimate of casualties was reported to Division G-1. In the light of what had been accomplished, it was amazingly light, though nonetheless serious. Killed: 1 officer, 6 enlisted men; wounded: 2 officers, 25 enlisted men. The officer killed was 1st Lt. JOHN MCCOWN of Company C, a veteran mountain climber whose rambling bow-legged gait and contempt for army red tape had made him a well-known figure to almost every man in the regiment. He had been riddled by a German machine gun as he made a reconnaissance patrol.

Wednesday, February 21, 1945 – 1st Battalion is on the move again. The 21st of February we moved back to a little town and took off for Gaggio Montano. Rested 2 days and the third day took a short truck ride for about five miles outside of Gaggio Montano. By 1700 the 10th Reconnaissance Troop and the 10th Anti-tank Battalion were beginning to relieve the 1st Battalion.   …the regiment was in the process of moving to Gaggio Montano where the new CP was to be set up. Up there on the ridge they had left their buddies, men they had lived with and worked with, many of them almost two years. They were bitter and mad, but they were also very, very tired. Some had not slept or eaten for more than three days. Many were heroes, recommended for combat decorations. Despite their bitterness and their weariness, they were proud of each other and proud of themselves.

Friday, February 23, 1945 – Gaggio Montano comes under fire. Evidently the Germans were suspicious of Gaggio Montano for at 1549 (3:49pm) the first of several artillery shells fell within 50 yards of the CP building. At 1740 (5:40pm) the CP and aid station were shelled again. Two casualties resulted, and even the most dignified of the regimental staff assumed the prone position, especially after one shell hit the corner of the building. At 1825 (6:25pm) the town was shelled a third time, and everyone agreed that the (Germans) knew entirely too much about the movement to Gaggio Montano.

Saturday, March 3, 1945 – Just after dawn the next push begins, with 1st Battalion to take the high ground east of Monteforte and Hill 928 – Objective Able.  Company C… the advance was speedy but by no means simple. The Germans poured  artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire onto the attackers. But the first phase of  combat operations had taught the 86th a vital lesson: never let the Germans pin you  down. Keep moving. Once pinned down, you are an easy target for (German) artillery.  Despite a hail of fire, the companies moved up. At 1052 the final objective, Hill 928, was reached by Company A. Objective Able was conquered. For the 1st Battalion the first phase was over.

Sunday, March 4, 1945 – 1st Battalion fights toward Sassomolare/Morrison Earns the Bronze Star. Next morning at 0745, a new artillery barrage opened up, and at 0800 the 1st Battalion was off again, this time toward Sassomolare. At 0839... Companies B and C were attacking on line. At 0910 the advance was held up just south of Hills 892 and 859 by small arms and automatic weapons fire… By 0950 the battalion was once more moving ahead…  At 1109 Sassomolare was completely ours. (Next was)… a coordinated attack on the next objective, Mt. Grande. Company B was to attack on the right, Company C on the left, with Company A following C. Company D was to support from the high ground at Sassomolare. The attack was to jump off following a 27-minute artillery preparation. The attack was delayed by more harassing fire from the right flank. At 1315, 12 minutes ahead of schedule and while friendly artillery still fired, the battalion jumped off. Despite these initial handicaps, the advance proceeded. The artillery continued to pour heavy fire on targets of opportunity, and Rover Joe strafed the reverse slope of the objective. By 1400 Company C was advancing up the slope of Mt. Grande. At 1525 the objective was taken.  Pfc. CHARLES LE WECK of Company C explained the method of capturing prisoners.  With Mt. Grande taken, the advance was virtually over. The 86th had accomplished its mission.  Opposition had been stiff. From 1st Sgt. DOUGLAS TRAIL of Company D came a concise summary: “These last two days have been a bunch of hell.” Division G-2 warned… the enemy was capable of counterattacking with a strength of two battalions. Another sleepless night loomed for the men on the line.

Monday, March 5 – Friday, March 16, 1945 – Enduring constant danger and intense stress, the 1st Battalion Holds the Line. March 5…in the 1st Battalion area, Company C had found isolated pockets of enemy resistance on Hill 954. They spent the morning cleaning out the area. Position consolidation continued, though the men were constantly harassed by enemy artillery. Supplies were largely carried by mules.  In the early morning hours of March 6, it appeared at last that the Germans were preparing to attack. …Sirens could be heard, and between 0400 (4am) and 0500 (5am) a small-scale firefight broke out in the 1st Battalion area. The Americans were quick to retaliate. … to the intense relief of all concerned, the German attack did not materialize. At noon that same day …The Rover Joe planes were out again, strafing possible enemy positions. Up on the ridge and down another the planes went, beating the ground with their machine gun fire. On the ridge running down from Mt. Grande, the 1st Battalion men sat on the edge of their foxholes and cheered the planes as they did their deadly work. Suddenly one plane headed directly for the 1st Battalion positions and dived low, continuing its fire. The men below sat stunned for a moment and then leaped for cover. Some didn’t make it. The pilot, confused by the sight of similar ridges below him, had misjudged his terrain.  One officer and nine men were wounded on March 7. Early on the morning of March 8, an intelligence crew from the 1st Battalion, digging in an OP, ran into heavy and accurate machine gun fire. Intermittent machine gun fire swept the entire 1st Battalion front almost every night. And.. the artillery continued to fall, killing one man here and wounding another there. The men in the foxholes sweating it out, seeing each dawn with the relieved realization that another night had passed without a shell in their particular dugout.  On March 11 … the 1st Battalion motor pool was heavily shelled, wounding one man. General DUFF inspected the forward areas, but more important to the men was the fact that 10-in-1 rations, with their added variety, were substituted for the tiresome C-rations. Company C, on Sasso Baldino, beat off an enemy combat patrol on March 12, but was constantly forced to contend with enemy snipers who infiltrated behind the lines and fired on positions from the rear.  …Company C was fast finding that every house was heavily booby-trapped… On the night of March 15-16, the 1st Battalion left the line… (and) moved far back to the division rest area at Montecatini.

Saturday, March 17 – Sunday, March 18, 1945 – 1st Battalion enjoys a weekend away from the front. Montecatini was the nearest thing to a line soldier’s dream—a wide-open town where the MPs were tolerant, the champagne and cherry brandy flowed like water, and there were ample facilities for amusement. Not the least of the attractions was the Club Trianon, a rowdy nightclub with a hot swing orchestra and a shady burlesque show. The men crowded into the movies and bars, met Montecatini’s pretty girls, took a look at its famous marble mineral baths, and generally tried to forget all about the war.

Monday, March 19 – (around) Monday - April 2, 1945 – 1st Battalion is back on the front lines. On March 19 the 1st Battalion left Montecatini… Troop rotation continued on March 20 when the 1st Battalion moved back onto the line (at Il Monte). As March drew to a close, the 1st Battalion was relieved by the 2nd Battalion 87th…(and) moved to a training area… at Piastre, 8 kilometers southeast of San Marcello.

Friday, April 6, 1945 – 1st Battalion moves to Riola. By April 6 it was evident that something big was in the wind. The shifting of sectors, which forecasted the beginning of an operation, started as the 1st Battalion moved forward from its division reserve area to relieve the 10th Mountain Anti-tank Battalion at Riola.  This move presaged the shift of the entire regiment into that area. A glance at the map reveals the importance of this terrain. It encompasses the high ground to the left of and controlling Highway 64, the principal route from the south into Bologna. Before any viable force could move up that highway, this rugged mountainous ground would have to be occupied by friendly forces. It soon developed that this was the primary mission of the 10th Mountain Division in the “Big Push.”

Saturday,  April 14, 1945 – The push to Po Valley begins. Only one battalion of the regiment was scheduled to be committed on the first day of the attack.  The other two battalions were to remain in reserve until the first phase had been completed. “H-Hour” was to be at 0945 (April 14.) The artillery preparation at 0910 would follow the air bombardment beginning at 0830. Promptly at 0830 the airplanes began to circle lazily over the front lines, to be greeted with shouts and waves from the troops below. The planes moved over the valley and let loose with firebombs over Rocca di Roffeno. Great geysers of flame and heavy black smoke rose up to 200 feet in the air, and the concussion could be felt 3000 yards away. When the planes had finished, the artillery opened up, seemingly pounding every spot that the Air Corps had missed. In a few moments the valley was almost completely obscured by a fog of gray, black, and white smoke. The bursting shells started rockslides on the shale slopes of Rocca di Roffeno, and buildings were reduced to irregular piles of rubble. The infantry attack jumped off on time, and at 0951 April 14 the 2nd Battalion (of the 86th) was in position to follow the 87th across the line of departure. As the infantry units advanced, the engineers moved in behind them to build roads and bridges so that tanks and armor could be moved up. The enemy raked every approach route with his artillery, hampering the work of the engineers and impeding supply. Mule trains labored up the steep slopes. When shelling fell close to the road, the mulemen hit the ground, holding fast to the lead rope while the mules stood placidly. At 1622 the Corps commander… ordered the 2nd Battalion to contact the 87th so as to tie up the defense for the night.  The 2nd Battalion had suffered damaging casualties in the day’s action.

Sunday, April 15, 1945 – 1st Battalion joins the fight. Next morning, April 15, the preliminary artillery barrage began at 0635.  The 1st and 3rd Battalions, in reserve all day, were ordered forward. The 1st Battalion moved into an assembly area just south of Mt. Sette Croci. The night was a busy one, for the commander sensed that they were beginning to crack the German defense. The principal obstacle to a new advance was a heavily mined field just past the proposed line of departure.

Monday, April 16, 1945 –  From Po Valley to Lake Garda, the 10th drives on. The mine belt delayed operations considerably. At 0800 on the morning of April 16, General HAYS ordered the regiment to attack as soon as possible, since the 87th had surprised elements of the 94th Division and was now on that unit’s flank. The 1st Battalion had made rapid advances... Company A had reached its final objective, la Predosa, at 2030, having taken 26 prisoners. Company C advanced two and a half miles without casualty, captured 5 prisoners, and occupied its objective at Coste.

Tuesday, April 17, 1945 - The 1st Battalion pushed on to la Palazzina, then to the high ground.  The attack was gaining momentum now. Every day brought the troops closer to the long sought- after Po Valley. Already the peaks were a little less rugged. But hard fighting remained before the Germans were to be pushed out of the Apennines.’

Wednesday, April 19, 1945 – In order to furnish a mobile reserve for the division, the 1st Battalion was mechanized with Quartermaster trucks. The mules, having outlived their usefulness, were sent to the rear. The entire regiment was rested as much as possible to prepare for an all-out push into the Po Valley... Many of the men got little rest however, as the Germans continued to rain mortar and artillery fire on the rear areas. By 1500 on the afternoon of April 19, the forward regiments had broken up the enemy resistance, and the 86th received its orders for the next phase.   … The direction of attack was northwest, and its ultimate aim was to break into the Po Valley and cut Highway 9, one of the main supply routes from the north to Bologna. At 1800 the regiment began to move forward. The situation was extremely fluid, for the whole front was breaking up. The road was crowded with vehicles and marching soldiers, and the white dust filled the air so thickly that at times it was difficult to see. ..at 2100 (9pm), the battalions were ordered into bivouac areas for the night: the 1st Battalion in the vicinity of Rosario.

Thursday, April 20, 1945 –  The 1st Battalion moved into the valley at noon... The advance was going like wildfire. Strong armored support moved with them. At 1500 (3pm) the 1st Battalion cut Highway 9, severing the main supply route to Bologna and dooming that outflanked city.

The magnitude of the breakthrough was difficult to comprehend. The enemy line had been wrecked. After the first stages of the attack there had been little opposition. The 1st Battalion had advanced 13 miles in 5 hours. The Italians in the Po Valley were for the most part completely and deliriously happy.  It was a day most men in the 86th would never forget. The race had just begun. The 1st and 3rd Battalions were to move abreast and seize the bridge at Bomporto north of Modena.

Friday, April 21, 1945 – The battalions began to move out at approximately 1100 on the morning of the 21st.

Saturday, April 22, 1945 –  As the long convoys wound their way through the Italian countryside, some of them were bound to run into trouble. So rapid was the sweep that formidable bodies of enemy troops were still operating in the rear areas. At 1950 (7:50pm) on the night of April 22, the 1st Battalion encountered fierce enemy resistance at the crossroads. The Germans allowed much of the convoy to pass, then attacked with bazookas and machine guns just as the rear of the battalion pulled past them, scattering the convoy. Two enemy tanks then rolled forward and fired on the convoy, destroying jeeps and trucks.  Some fifteen Germans were killed in the firefight, which lasted over four hours.  The battalions once again settled down into bivouac: the 1st at Varagna.

Sunday, April 23, 1945 –  The advance was continued on the 23rd of April without incident. By noon the entire regiment had reached San Benedetto on the Po River.  The battalions remained in readiness to cross the river on a two-hour notice. In the brief interval caused by the stop in San Benedetto, the regiment received replacements and the men rested. In spite of the bright moonlight, enemy planes strafed and bombed the bivouac areas. The rest was short-lived. At 1900 (7pm) the 10th Anti-tank Battalion relieved the 86th in its defensive positions and the regiment prepared to cross the river. The 3rd Battalion was across at 0630 (6:30am); the 2nd at 0830 (8:30am); and the 1st by 1000 (10am). The crossings were made Apr 23 in assault boats and DUKWs and were largely without incident.

Monday, April 24, 1945 –  … the regiment set up defense areas in the vicinity of Governolo. By 1105 (11:05am) on April 24, the regiment had received its new assignment from the divisional commander. The 86th was to spearhead the drive toward the historic old city of Verona. Capture of the town would cut one of the major escape routes of the German troops still in northwestern Italy. Attacking at dawn on the 25th, the regiment was to advance in a mechanized column along the main highways north, bypassing airfields at Mantova and Villafranca. Supported by the 13th Tank Battalion, the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion, and the 751st Tank Battalion, Company B of the 126th Engineer Battalion, and the 1125th Armored Artillery Battalion, the regiment was to be completely motorized, utilizing captured German vehicles. It was planned to attack and seize Verona, holding that city until the arrival of other elements of the division. For the operation, the 86th would constitute the striking infantry of a task force under the direction of Colonel WILLIAM O. DARBY, former commanding officer of the famed Rangers.

Tuesday, April 25, 1945 – At 2045 (8:45pm) the armored elements joined the waiting infantry, and the thrust toward Verona began. By 2330 (11:30pm) the regiment was in striking distance of the city. Civilians reported that there were no organized combat units in the city and that most permanent garrison personnel had been evacuated.

Wednesday, April 26, 1945 –  The 1st Battalion was assigned the mission of crossing the river with tanks, tank destroyers and artillery. They were to establish a bridgehead on the opposite side, seizing the town of Bussolengo. Once over the stream, the soldiers loaded on tanks and pushed into Bussolengo. When the battalion settled down in bivouac, they did not even dig foxholes for the first time in weeks.

Thursday, April 27, 1945 –Late on the night of April 27, the regiment entrucked and moved north. By 0330 (3:30am) the 86th had contacted the 85th. Detrucking, the regiment continued the advance on foot. No trouble was encountered until 0500 when a destroyed culvert held up the march.

Friday, April 28, 1945 –  By this time, the regiment had advanced well into the mountains. It was here on the shores of the beautiful Lake Garda that the Germans had elected to fight their delaying action. The road ahead led through a series of tunnels, around which elaborate defenses had been established. The tunnels were prepared for demolition and much of the road had been destroyed. It was an ideal place for the German stand. The road ran directly along the shore of the lake, and above the road soared sheer cliffs, hundreds of feet high.

Saturday, April 29, 1945 –  At 0440 (4:40am) on the morning of the 29th, troopers of the 1st Battalion climbed the hills above the lake and moved north toward Nago. In order to maneuver in the rugged terrain… troops (went) back a considerable distance and then forward again over the ridges and peaks. The mountain training of the men served them in good stead. Supplies, ammunition, artillery, everything was being moved up by DUKW. German SP [self-propelled] guns in Riva kept up a constant barrage on the lake. The water was rough, and the speedboats used to evacuate the wounded had rough going. For 14 straight hours, they climbed up sheer cliffs, through ravines, and over slippery shale slopes. Finally at 1700 (5pm) they had reached a high point from which they could see Nago. The only approach to the village was through a small cut in the rocks. The Germans had a strong final protective line, a 20-mm gun, a 37-mm ack-ack gun, one tank, and self-propelled guns. Not a man in the battalion believed they could advance through that cut. When night came, though every man was so tired that he could hardly stand, the battalion moved forward. After a 15-minute artillery barrage, Company B moved through the ravine single-file. As the column wound its way over the rocks, a German plane dipped low and dropped eight personnel bombs on the weapons platoon, killing nine men… The men were beaten physically and the air bombardment was the last straw. They were then approximately 200 yards from the town. They withdrew 500 yards at 0300 (3am). They spent the rest of the cold and miserable night in the hills under constant rain of shellfire.

Sunday, April 30, 1945 –  The next morning, a patrol from Company C made its way into Nago.  The 1st Battalion finally occupied Nago at 1115 (11:15am) that morning. They had fought one of the most discouraging and difficult actions of the entire campaign. Rumors of peace and the end of the war were afoot, but no one took them seriously except the Italians. The 86th confidently expected to have to chase the Germans through the Brenner Pass.

Tuesday, May 1, 1945 –  General GEORGE P. HAYS… ordered the 86th to rest as much as possible during the next four days, establishing roadblocks to the north and sending out patrols to determine if the enemy had established any line of resistance to the front. Armor—tank destroyers and tanks—were brought into Riva and Torbole in expectation of coming action as fast as they could be amphibiously transported across Lake Garda. The Germans had done their usual methodical job of destruction on the bridges and tunnels around the lakeshore, and much of the road was still impassable.

Wednesday, May 2, 1945 – The war in Italy is over. The climax of the day and of the five months the 86th had spent in Italy came quickly. At 1850, (reports were that an) intercepted British broadcast had announced the unconditional surrender of the German armies in North Italy. Five minutes later, the British liaison officer from the 1125th Artillery relayed a report that the war in North Italy was over, and at 1900 (7pm) came official word… the war was “finito” and that there was to be no further firing of weapons except in defense against attack. The church bells in Riva rang wildly. Word passed quickly from official sources by word of mouth. The soldiers were, as a rule, undemonstrative. Some got wine and liquor, which the Italians brought out of hiding for the first time since the German occupation. Many bars opened and drinks were “on the house.” Partisans and a few Yanks fired their weapons into the air. Largely, the men were sober about the news. The Italians were the real revelers. They sang heartily, danced in the streets, and kissed one another happily while American soldiers looked on.

Friday, May 4, 1945 – Sunday, May 12, 1945 – A time of both war and peace. On May 4, Company C moved into Roverto. Six roadblocks were arranged for the disarming of the Partisans in that area, and the Germans were segregated under the control of their own officers. There was no trouble.

Sunday, May 13, 1945 – Monday, May 14, 1945 –  The 86th moves on, moves out. …the regiment moved out of the Riva area toward the south. Their orders were to concentrate near Ghedi and Bendecino, about 40 kilometers south of Brescia. There they were to receive and guard German prisoners and await further orders. The move was complete by the night of the 14th. The entire regiment set up in tents in a bivouac in the green flat fields near an abandoned German airport.  The regiment held showdown inspections and turned in its winter equipment. From a captured German warehouse, Special Service obtained and issued free to each man a bottle of fine French champagne. The men played softball and volleyball in the hot Po Valley sun. On everyone’s mind was the thought that perhaps the next stop for the regiment was a port of embarkation. I went the next night down to where the German Armies were going into the PW cage.  We heard the papers say Tito wanted Trieste and they didn't want him to have it. If such were the plans, Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia disrupted them. His troops refused to evacuate the area around Trieste.

Wednesday, May 16, 1945 –  The 86th gets a new mission. The regiment was alerted to move northeast to Udine, in order to keep an eye on the Yugoslavs.

Saturday, May 19, 1945 – The 86th leaves for Trieste. The 1st Battalion moved out in trucks, traveling 205 miles and stopping only for the night at Orzano.  For much of the regiment, the accommodations were more luxurious than anything they had yet enjoyed in Italy, though some companies still remained in tents. The mountainous terrain reminded many of Camp Hale, and veterans of the outfit were soon skiing and mountain climbing in the surrounding peaks.

Sunday, May 20, 1945 – Saturday, June 30, 1945 – The 86th guards Trieste. Yugoslavs were garrisoned in the same areas as the Americans. Both the Slavs and the Americans carried their weapons, maintained roadblocks, and stood guard duty. But for the most part the Yugoslavs seemed friendly, and no serious incidents were reported. The Yugoslavs revealed that their instructions were to maintain the closest and most cordial relations with both Allied troops and Italian Partisans.  The Americans contented themselves for the time being with close observation of the situation and the guarantee of protection and evacuation of anyone threatened with conscription by the Yugoslavs.

External Link Snippet REMEMBERING THOSE WHO CLIMBED BEFORE

External Link Snippet WALKING THE PATH OF THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT BEHIND THEIR LEGACY

External Link Snippet LEARNING THE HISTORY AND JOINING THE LEGACY

External Link Snippet 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION SOLDIER REENLISTS ATOP RIVA RIDGE, HONORING LEGACY 80 YEARS LATER

External Link Snippet WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS: SOLDIERS HONOR COL. DARBY'S LEGACY WITH 40-MILER CHALLENGE 

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LEGACY DAYS 2025

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80TH ANNIVERSARY OF RIVA RIDGE DAY 1

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80TH ANNIVERSARY OF RIVA RIDGE DAY 2

External Link Snippet 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF RIVA RIDGE

External Link Snippet RETRACING A LEGACY

External Link Snippet 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION (LI) SOLDIERS HONOR THOSE WHO CLIMBED BEFORE US

External Link Snippet 90LBS RUCKSACK CHALLENGE 2025

External Link Snippet 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION (LI) ELITE FORCES ACROSS THE HALE TO VAIL TAVERSE

External Link Snippet 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION (LI): PAST AND PRESENT