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CHAPTER 10
The Sangro: Orsogna

No time was lost in getting the troops off the ships, ‘A’ Party commencing disembarkation at 9 a.m. and ‘B’ Party an hour or so later. The men came ashore in large barges towed by tugs and, leaving their valises, bedrolls, and bivouac tents in the care of a baggage party, marched off. Everyone was in the easy dress of shipboard life, with many wearing tennis and deck shoes, and the Italian spectators seemed astonished, as well they might, at the bedraggled appearance of the men. Any chance of concealing the identity of the troops was destroyed by a ‘Tommy's’ greeting of ‘Hello Kiwis’, and also by a query from shore to lighter as to the identity of the approaching troops being answered with ‘New Zealanders from the Dunottar Castle’. It probably mattered little as the prospects of keeping such a matter secret appeared to be negligible.

The very narrow streets of Taranto were obstructed by debris from the severe bombing the town had received, necessitating marching in single file until the open country was reached. The camp site, seven miles away, was pleasantly situated in a fine grove of pine trees, green shrubs, and scrub, resembling the Hymettus camp outside Athens. The swarms of mosquitoes, however, were a serious drawback and emphasised the need for anti-malarial precautions, which were strictly enforced. Gloves and veils were provided for men on pickets and similar duties and repellent cream was used generally; all ranks were required to take a mepacrine tablet daily, Sundays excluded, and water where mosquitoes could breed was drained or treated. These necessary but irksome precautions ceased, however, about a month later, on 8 November, the end of the dangerous season, when all the special equipment was withdrawn.

The preparation of an organised camp was commenced at once. No cooking utensils were immediately available and bully beef and biscuits for the first few meals made it certain that the hot meal in the evening of the second day would be appreciated. Plenty of wine was available but it was of poor quality. Back at the ship the battalion baggage party was somewhat unfortunate. Instead of merely watching the baggage being

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swung out by winches, the men had to manhandle everything to the trucks as the winches had broken down. This gave the party a full night of laborious work and no food. On the arrival of the baggage in camp much thieving was revealed, nearly a quarter of the kitbags having been rifled. Boots tied on the outside of the bags had been a special target. Some retaliation against the Italian baggage lighters was rumoured to have taken place, with considerable advantage to the troops.

The surrounding country, very rocky and wooded, presented a striking picture to eyes long accustomed to the desert, and the men in their spare time took every opportunity to explore the neighbourhood. In a valley nearby an old Roman castle in ruins was discovered, the interior having a number of religious pictures painted on the walls. The sight of a number of black snakes introduced some caution into these rambles though ‘the largest seen was a mere forty-two inches’. A plentiful supply of fresh fruit was available and grapes, almonds, figs, and dates were eagerly bought at very low prices. Once again the men had the somewhat confusing experience of handling strange currency—Italian lire and lire issued by the Allied military authorities—the fourth occasion for those who had served in Egypt, Greece, and Syria, and the fifth for those who had also visited Palestine.

The first rain experienced in Italy, and indeed the first since the end of the Tunisian campaign five months ago, fell on the second day and showed the urgent need for drainage throughout the camp and the metalling of roads and tracks. The large working parties employed soon overcame the mud, and by the fourth day the camp had taken shape and was in a reasonable condition. During these activities the battalion had its first glimpse of the enemy in Italy when an enemy aircraft passed overhead at a great height.

The inevitable football ground was soon constructed. Company parades and daily route marches followed, and the training was gradually extended to include all forms of instruction and tactical exercises suited to this new theatre. Movement through wooded country at night, sniping, and camouflage, for all of which there had been little or no scope in Africa, received special attention. On 25 October Colonel Morten and the company commanders attended an interesting tewt involving an attack on a walled village, Montemesola being visited to inspect the German defences there.

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Leave to Taranto for 15 per cent of the strength had been granted a few days after the battalion's arrival. The men, however, had little liking for the town. They found it very dirty and there was little or nothing to purchase. The more adventurous spirits roamed the countryside, visiting the villages scattered over a considerable area. One such village was Marino, 15 miles away; it was quaint and most attractive, untouched by war, its narrow streets paved with white stone and not a speck of dirt anywhere. It was the cleanest village seen since Greece and the people were very friendly.

In addition to the usual sports and games, a mobile cinema and the brigade band entertained the troops. C Company showed great enterprise by holding a miniature-garden competition, in which replicas of a Maori pa and the Wellington Cenotaph were skilfully reproduced. The Padre (Rev. H. G. Norris) and Captain Williams of C Company also arranged an excellent battalion concert. Entertainment of a very different kind was provided in the afternoon of 28 October when a severe electrical storm destroyed by lightning several of the barrage balloons protecting the port of Taranto. Thunder, lightning, and rain continued till the early hours of the morning, and although a fairly clear day followed, another thunderstorm before dawn the next day and heavy rain throughout the ensuing night completed the soaking of the camp and everything and everybody in it. However, the drainage work carried out earlier in the month proved its worth.

The second flight of the Division which arrived at Taranto on the 22nd brought some of the battalion's vehicles, the absence of which was very inconvenient and also limited training. The first vehicles to arrive, on 30 October, were few in number but provided some very welcome mobility; they were the Brigade Signals' truck, one jeep, the RQMS's three-tonner, A Company's cooks' truck, and HQ Company Commander's pick-up, and were followed the next day by the battalion office truck.

An intensive period of close-country training occupied the first two weeks in November under conditions very similar to those in New Zealand and in distinct contrast with much of the desert training. The heavy showers of rain and the much cooler weather made the issue of battledress early in the month very welcome.

Officers, warrant officers, and NCOs of the battalion were given some insight to the situation and conditions on the Fifth

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and Eighth Army fronts in Italy when, on 2 November, they heard a lecture by Colonel Fountaine (26 Battalion), who had been a member of a party taken over the battle fronts by General Freyberg. The lecturer described the country, road conditions and road discipline, and the salient features along the front, and also gave an account of the recent attacks along the Adriatic front. Much of this information was passed on to the men.

Since the middle of October plans for the employment of 2 NZ Division had been altered on two or three occasions, while the forward move of the Division had been delayed by the non-arrival of its vehicles. These matters did not affect the battalion to any extent, but eventually, on Saturday, 13 November, under Major Possin, it moved off for a staging area 82 miles on the road to Lucera; Colonel Morten and Major Norman had gone on ahead.

There was good scenery with many interesting villages, but the staging area was cold and bleak with no shelter and the night was bitterly cold. Next day the route traversed country planted in vegetables of all kinds and much like New Zealand. The town of Foggia (normally a busy industrial centre with a population of over 60,000), which the column passed through, had been very severely bombed and ‘was in a real mess’. After passing Lucera, a town of over 18,000 people, with its notable cathedral and castle, the battalion reached its bivouac area soon after midday, just before rain fell. It was rather cold and a stiff gale made conditions very unpleasant, but fortunately the advance party had already completed tracks and drains in the area.

The following two days were spent in training. Though not so rugged, the country resembled that behind Taihape. As had been the case in all the countries the battalion had visited, there were no fences; the black soil was very muddy and the cross-country route marches and hill training proved rather stiff tests. Winter had set in with heavy frosts, which made the issue of woollen underwear and leather jerkins (the men's first experience of the latter) a great comfort.

The active front on the Sangro, for which the battalion was heading, lay 70 air-miles away to the north-west, though it was half as far again by road. The Eighth Army, which had advanced over 300 miles since landing in the extreme south of Italy on 3 September, was approaching the river, beyond which the Germans were preparing a defensive line for the

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winter. On the other side of Italy, the western flank, Fifth (United States) Army (which included British troops also), after landing at Salerno on 9 September, was 70 miles beyond the Volturno River, 100 miles from Rome. Mountainous country between the two armies, the Apennines, made co-operation and communications difficult and presented the enemy with every opportunity for efficient demolitions. The capture of Rome, regarded as of high political importance, was the next main Allied objective.

On the Eighth Army front 78 Division was advancing up the coastal sector with 8 Indian Division on its left. In the hills farther inland were 1 Canadian Division and 5 British Division. General Montgomery's plan was to force the Sangro position by crossing the river near the mouth and to spread out from there. The New Zealand Division, directly under Eighth Army command, was to relieve 8 Indian Division in the Atessa area, 12 miles from the Adriatic coast, and so enable that division to close on 78 Division for the coastal attack. If the attack succeeded the New Zealand Division was to advance to the north-west to Chieti, 20 miles away.

By wireless silence, camouflage, and the retention of 8 Indian Infantry Brigade under New Zealand command, it was hoped to avoid disclosing the relief to the enemy. It had also been intended that all moves would be made by night but the extremely bad state of the roads made this impossible.

About half the Division had gone forward, the leading troops five days earlier, when on 17 November 25 Battalion left Lucera in rainy and very cold weather for the Atessa area. The route touched the Adriatic coast at Termoli, then turned sharply inland near Vasto, 17 miles up the coast. The men found the villages and their inhabitants disappointing. There was heavy traffic on the roads, and beyond Termoli, where amphibious jeeps attracted the attention of the men, much delay was caused by traffic jams at the river crossings and by the steep, narrow, and tortuous mountain roads. The numerous deviations made necessary by the destruction of all bridges became almost impassable in many places because of wet weather and the very heavy traffic.

After a slow and very trying journey of sixteen hours, the battalion bivouacked about 15 miles short of Atessa, where Tactical Headquarters of the Division was established. The altitude was now almost 2000 feet, the bivouac being on the

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eastern flank of Monte Sorbo of 3000 feet, a mile away. There was a snowcapped range a few miles off and the atmosphere was decidedly chilly.

Next day progress was again very slow. The road was exceedingly tortuous and ultimately, after five and a half hours, the battalion bivouacked alongside the road a little to the east of Atessa; a particularly bad crossing over the Osento River three miles east of the town was seriously impeding traffic. During

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the day's journey the men watched the enemy shelling the road in a valley below, but the fire had ceased when the battalion passed through.

Very early the following morning (19 November) 25 Battalion (less B Company detached for protective duties with the Engineers) moved with the rest of the brigade to a lying-up area north of Atessa, about three miles from the Sangro River. No bivouac tents were available on this occasion and the men made their own arrangements for the remainder of the night. Haystacks were a natural choice, but in one instance, through creating a huge mushroom by dragging hay from the sides of a stack, a collapse occurred, burying some men of A Company to the accompaniment of much profanity and struggling; fortunately there were no casualties.

At dusk, preceded by 26 Battalion and followed by the 24th, the battalion marched to its position on the brigade front along the Strada Sangritana, a mile from the river. There it dug in with 26 Battalion on the right and 24 Battalion on the left. The road from Atessa had proved impassable for vehicles and it was a gruelling march, especially for those who had to carry heavy weapons, ammunition, and equipment, the mortar platoon and 11 MG Platoon (which accompanied the battalion) and the men who assisted them having the hardest tasks.

Heavy rain fell during the night and continued throughout the day, creating very muddy conditions and flooding the slit trenches. Houses and other buildings in the vicinity were taken over to shelter the troops, the Italian occupants proving very hospitable. In one house (casa) three men shared a room with a donkey, a situation offering some scope for the company wit. Where buildings were not available, bivouac tents gave some protection.

The mortar platoon, it is said, was the first to incur the displeasure of the enemy and also to learn the difficulty of emplacing its mortars in the muddy ground. Under Lieutenant Groshinski,¹ it had orders to take up positions as near the river as possible. It was difficult to find good bases to take the shock of discharge of the mortar and timber was used as a foundation. From his OP and Command Post up the biggest oak tree in the vicinity, Groshinski, with the powerful voice for which he was famed and which was heard at B Echelon a mile back, issued his orders to range the mortars, which were 150 yards

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from him. On fire being opened, the base plates of three of the four mortars skidded off the timber bases and the breech pieces were snapped off. The fourth mortar was gradually driven down until the sights were level with the ground. In the midst of this turmoil the enemy, who, it is claimed, would have had no difficulty in hearing the fire orders, retaliated with his own artillery, and a shell bursting under the tree brought Groshinski down in quick time and caused a speedy withdrawal of the mortars to a safer and firmer position.

Sixth Brigade's sector was the eastern half of 19 Indian Infantry Brigade's position between Monte Marcone on the right and the junction of the Sangro and Aventino rivers on the left, a frontage of about three miles. The three battalions, however, were centrally situated in a comparatively small area a little to the south-west of the junction of the Atessa road with the Strada Sangritana. Active patrolling across the river had been ordered by Division and all battalions sent out patrols each night, with varying results due to difficulty in crossing the river, there being frequent changes in the depth of water and speed of the current.

Where 6 Brigade was situated the Sangro valley was two miles wide with a cultivated area of vineyards, orchards, and olive groves, the Piazzano, south of the river, and a narrow, marshy strip on the northern bank with many irrigation ditches. Steep hills on both sides overlooked the valley, terminating in places on the northern side near the river in almost vertical cliffs. North of the cliffs the country, which was intersected by many water channels, rose sharply to a dominating ridge stretching from Lanciano on the right, through Castelfrentano to Guardiagrele on the left. The ridge varied in height from about 800 to 1500 feet above sea level, and at Castelfrentano was about 1000 feet above the river, four miles distant. Along the New Zealand front and for several miles downstream there were no bridges. The river ran in several channels separated by gravel banks, the current was rapid and the bottom stony, with boulders in places. As the considerable drainage area of the river consisted almost entirely of very steep country, terminating in the Apennines in the upper reaches, the fast run-off of any rain quickly caused a fresh in the river. Except in summer, the melting of snow in the mountains also caused a considerable variation in the depth and current.

The Germans had a strong chain of defences north of the river, with their main line along the ridge through Lanciano,

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Castelfrentano, Guardiagrele, north of Casoli, and thence to the south-west along Route 84. The most heavily defended positions were the south-eastern approach to Castelfrentano, the road junction on Route 84 a mile and a half west of Castelfrentano, and another road junction a mile east of Guardiagrele, where the road to Orsogna leaves the Castelfrentano-Guardiagrele road. These positions were linked by a belt of wire along the road line, covered by machine-gun and infantry posts well dug-in and camouflaged. The two road junctions were protected by anti-tank ditches and anti-tank guns and there were weapon pits on both sides of Route 84 from the Sangro River northwards to the main ridge. The position was held in depth, up to two miles in places.

In front of the main position was an outpost line consisting mainly of machine-gun and weapon pits fairly wide apart. The north bank of the river was mined in several places. It was a formidable position, but defences depend primarily on the quality of the defenders and in this instance the defenders were 65 Division, a second-rate formation composed mostly of Poles and young raw troops with horse-drawn transport and poor equipment. Wide frontages were held, two regiments occupying 15 miles, with 146 Regiment opposing the New Zealanders.

The first day in the position, 20 November, was rather trying, the weather bad with mud everywhere and the Germans enjoying good observation from within a couple of thousand yards. ‘Jerry gave us a fair pasting from across the Sangro,’ wrote Wakeling, ‘and the 24th suffered a few casualties. A long day and all to keep under cover as Jerry only about 2000 yards away. Another plaster at 4 when our guns put over a fair barrage. Patrols out at 7 p.m. Quiet night except for some Spandau and Bren shooting.’

That night it had been planned for 6 Brigade to make a silent attack, coinciding with an attack in the coastal sector and another by 19 Indian Brigade on the left, two miles beyond the New Zealand front, but because of a rise in the Sangro the operations were postponed for forty-eight hours. During this waiting period standing patrols were maintained on the south bank of the river, and when the depth of water permitted reconnoitring patrols went across. The depth varied at different points, and although the water was icy cold the men showed great determination in carrying out their tasks, sometimes wading breast-high with linked hands to help withstand the current, and occasionally swimming to find the depth or after

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being swept off their feet. As mountaineers and tramping clubs in New Zealand have so frequently emphasised, the men found that the crossing of a river was not lightly to be undertaken and that darkness greatly increased the difficulties and dangers.

Many of 25 Battalion's patrols were unable to cross the river, though they tried repeatedly at different points. One that succeeded was a patrol from B Company under Second-Lieutenant Norton-Taylor² which climbed the cliffs north of the river; it found that the buildings on Colle Scorticacane, a mile to the north-west of the Sangro, were occupied by the enemy. It also found mines south of the river on a front of about 400 yards. There were in fact many mines in the area, and their removal required joint action by the engineers and escorting infantry detachments; the very efficient German anti-personnel S-mine was used extensively and caused much worry and many casualties. Daylight patrols were tried on the 21st by the other two battalions, under orders by General Freyberg, but these were repulsed with loss, and in consequence instructions were issued that no one was to cross the river in daylight.

The following day heavy rain caused another fresh in the Sangro and the postponed attack on the coastal sector and 6 Brigade's front was again postponed for a further twenty-four hours. The attack by the Indian Brigade to the left of the New Zealand front was not affected, as the point of attack was above the confluence of the Aventino and Sangro rivers and the latter could be crossed there.

During the night Bailey bridge and folding-boat equipment was brought forward to the river, and to mask the noise and discourage enemy patrols the artillery and machine guns along the New Zealand front were active. About three in the morning enemy shells falling near disturbed some of the men of the battalion, and a little later, when the shelling increased, a shell hit a tree within ten yards of a group of men of B Company but fortunately was a ‘dud’.

Before dawn on the 23rd there was considerable liveliness when all three New Zealand field regiments and one British field regiment under New Zealand command supported the attack by Essex and Punjab battalions of 19 Indian Brigade across the river. The attack succeeded against strong opposition, though subsequent enemy counter-attacks had some temporary local success which brought the New Zealand artillery again into action. This, in turn, caused increased enemy fire against

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25 Battalion's position and other parts of the New Zealand front, especially on roads, buildings and gun positions, the enemy apparently anticipating an extension of the attack.

Shortly after the start of the Indian Brigade's attack there was more heavy rain, which continued until the afternoon, causing the Sangro to rise nearly two feet. This made the operation proposed for that night quite impossible and 6 Brigade's attack, at first postponed for twenty-four hours, was cancelled and a new plan adopted. That day the first casualty in the battalion in the Italian campaign occurred, Corporal Brunton³ being wounded by a shell splinter.

From a security point of view the presence of civilians so far forward in the battle zone was a source of some anxiety, the more so as they had, until quite recently, belonged to a hostile power. That such fears had some basis was revealed by a search of the houses and other buildings in 25 Battalion's area, when one of the inhabitants who was found in possession of a transmitting set was arrested.

The following day (24 November) 5 Brigade took over the eastern half of 6 Brigade's front with one battalion and it was decided that both brigades would take part in the attack, probably on the night 26 – 27 November. For the first time in Italy enemy aircraft appeared over the New Zealand sector, though it will be recalled that a single aircraft passed high over the New Zealand camp near Taranto.

While the day of the attack was awaited there was the usual intermittent artillery fire by both sides, and when conditions permitted Allied aircraft were busy. On the 26th two flights, each of twelve Kittybombers, and seven flights each of twelve Baltimores bombed selected targets in the short space of two hours. An enemy aircraft was shot down and landed in the Sangro, the crew of two being taken prisoner by 25 Battalion. The next day air action increased in beautifully fine weather. Kittybombers bombed and strafed Casoli, five miles to the west, and Liberators bombed all along the main ridge in the vicinity of San Maria, seven miles to the north-east.

While Allied aircraft were operating the enemy artillery fire was much reduced, though on the 25th the position held by 25 Battalion had received more than its usual quota of shells, fortunately with little damage. The New Zealand artillery was busily preparing for the forthcoming attack, blasting houses on

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the opposite hills and, one evening just before dusk, firing five rounds from every gun at selected targets. The machine-gunners also took part in harassing the enemy, especially on the 26th, when for two hours after 10 p.m. they concentrated on an area in the vicinity of Colle Scorticacane, where the previous day considerable movement of enemy troops and transport had been observed.

Patrolling during this period was continued as usual and on the 24th each battalion had orders to send a strong fighting patrol across the river to visit positions known to have been occupied by the enemy, and to be prepared to go further and fight to find out the state of the enemy. Although the Sangro was reported by standing patrols to have dropped a foot during the day, the current was fast. The battalion's fighting patrol of one platoon, led by Lieutenant Coleman⁴ of D Company, was unable to cross, though a reconnaissance patrol from C Company, Lieutenant Muir,⁵ Sergeant Jim Brunton, Privates Robin Walker,⁶ ‘Hongi’ Menzies,⁷ and Les Delaney,⁸ crossed a hundred yards upstream but took three hours to do so. Patrols from B Company, one on the 23rd under Second-Lieutenant Rees⁹ and two, on the 25th and 26th, under Lieutenant Berry, could not get across the river. The other battalions also had difficulties. A 24 Battalion patrol crossed above the Sangro- Aventino junction but was unable to cross the Aventino, and 26 Battalion failed at one point but succeeded at another.

The irrigation ditches across the river opposite the brigade were found to be almost impossible to cross and the low-lying ground was reported to be a quagmire. The only contact made with the enemy was a house opposite the right flank of the brigade, about two miles north of 25 Battalion. Despite repeated attempts, no patrols were able to cross on the evening of 25 November; the river was running high and fast after four hours' rain and the men found it impossible to stand in water of hip depth. Italian civilians who had just crossed were able to give some valuable information, especially regarding the position of

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minefields. Some of those which had been discovered by patrols contained mines of a type strange to them; booby-trapped mines consisting of bamboo sticks laid across a track and attached by a string to a pull-igniter and demolition charge had also been found.

On the afternoon of the 27th, the day of the long-postponed attack, Colonel Morten discussed the plan with the company commanders. He explained that the Divivion was to establish a bridgehead over the Sangro and later exploit to the north and west to cover the main road—Route 84—running from the vicinity of the Aventino-Sangro junction to the Castelfrentano- Guardiagrele road, five miles to the north-west.

Both 5 and 6 Brigades were attacking, with 6 Brigade on the left, and for the first time New Zealand armour was to support New Zealand troops in the attack, though the armour had had its first action when a squadron on 23 November supported the Indian Brigade's operations. Nineteenth Armoured Regiment (less one squadron) was to support 6 Brigade's attack, which was to be made with all three battalions forward, 26 Battalion on the right and 25 Battalion in the centre. Each battalion had an artillery FOO attached and a machine-gun platoon (11 Platoon for 25 Battalion) under command.

In 25 Battalion the usual boundaries between companies were dispensed with and the three attacking companies, A, C, and D, were each to capture defined features and move by specified routes. B Company (Major Possin), the battalion reserve, was to help the rest of the battalion to cross the Sangro and provide protection and guides. For the crossing the company was to place as many hand-wires as possible over the water and provide guides at both ends for its own battalion and also for 24 Battalion, which was to use the same crossing-place. The company was also to place a strong standing patrol on the north side to protect the crossing of the two units and provide two other standing patrols: one of these was to be on the road north of the river to help A Company to form up; the other was to be in position to the west to assist D Company to get into position facing south-west for its attack on Pt 122, which lay in that direction. After A and D Companies were on their start lines, B Company was to form up in readiness to take over Pt 122 after its capture, following 24 Battalion (which was moving behind D Company) on its way to its objectives at Taverna Nova and Marabella.

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In pitch darkness a little before midnight, after B Company had gone ahead to carry out its tasks, the remainder of 25 Battalion marched off via a very muddy route to the river. The Intelligence Section provided guides for each company, both

during this approach march and during the attack, to guard against loss of direction and to help to identify the objectives.

Both battalions crossed safely, though not without some difficulty, in the order A and C Companies of 25 Battalion, then

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24 Battalion, and then the rest of 25 Battalion. The wires provided by B Company to aid the crossing were unequal to the strain, and a serious hitch was averted only by the fortunate discovery of another crossing nearby which did not require the use of wires. The icy-cold water, the stony bottom and the lodging of grit in the boots, the darkness and the waiting, and the enemy bank opposite, all combined to make the wading of the river an unpleasant and somewhat eerie episode; and the firing of a Spandau during the crossing, though it caused no casualties, was startling. Many of the men discarded their clothing in order to have it dry when they reached the left bank, the thought of going into the attack and spending the cold night in soaking clothes ‘having no appeal’. This mode of dress or undress for an attack naturally created some humour, even under the icy conditions, more especially in 15 Platoon when Les Delaney, after getting across, was able to produce a bottle of gin which had a buoyant effect on Roly Harwood,¹⁰ Robin Walker, Paddy Brockett,¹¹ A. J. Hoy,¹² N. McLay,¹³ and Gunderson,¹⁴ who shared it. Apparently no one suggested that the enemy may have caught the battalion with its pants down.

Forty-five minutes before zero hour (2.45 a.m. on 28 November) the battalion was in its assembly area, with its companies disposed as planned on the general line of the road 300 yards beyond the river, each flank protected by a platoon of B Company.

At zero the artillery and machine guns supporting the attack opened fire on selected targets and A and D Companies advanced under their deafening roar. The enemy defensive fire in reply was prompt, but being directed on the line of the river, fell harmlessly behind the attacking troops. The rate of advance decided upon, 100 yards in five minutes, with fifteen minutes' pause at intermediate objectives, took into account the steep and rough nature of the country to be traversed. A Company had been given the task of capturing Castellata, which was on a prominent ridge dotted with farm buildings about 1000 yards to the west of the assembly position. To avoid the line of cliffs which intervened along the direct route, A Com-

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pany (Major Robertshaw) advanced first to the north for about 500 yards and then to the north-west up a gully for about the same distance before turning to the south-west and climbing up to Castellata. The company searched the farm buildings on the way and, with a casualty list of one killed, one died of wounds, and nine wounded, secured the objective without difficulty. For his part in this action, Major Robertshaw was awarded the Military Cross.

D Company (Major Handyside) moved straight down the road to the south-west for about 1200 yards to its first objective, Pt 122, which it occupied with no opposition. After 24 Battalion had passed through to the west on its way to Taverna Nova and Marabella, D Company advanced 1500 yards to the north-west to its second or main objective, Pt 150, which was 800 yards to the west of A Company at Castellata on the adjoining ridge. D Company secured Pt 150 with a loss of one officer (Second-Lieutenant G. K. Smith) killed and Major Handyside and twenty-one men wounded; Captain Hewitt took over command of the company.

C Company (Major Webster) followed A Company up the gully and, passing through at Castellata, occupied two hilltops a little to the north-west of A Company and about 400 yards east of D Company's second objective on Pt 150. It then secured Hill 171 on the battalion's second objective, 600 yards to the north-west and about 300 yards north of D Company. The company had no casualties.

B Company (Major Possin), the last to leave the assembly area, followed the route to the south-west initially taken by D Company and 24 Battalion, and took up its position in reserve on Pt 122 which D Company had vacated. It had one casualty, a man wounded by the supporting artillery.

S-mines and booby-trapped box mines caused most of the casualties in the battalion. Twenty-three prisoners (three of them wounded), including many Poles, were captured. By daybreak the companies had secured all their objectives and the battalion, supported by its attached machine-gun platoon and covered by the artillery, was firmly established. Throughout the attack the battalion had trouble with its wireless link with Brigade and communication was not established until the final objective was reached.

The flank battalions of the brigade and 5 Brigade to the north-east also secured their objectives (with one minor exception) with comparatively little opposition.

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Though the opposition was weak, 25 Battalion had carried out its attack in the dark over steep, difficult country as planned, with skill and accuracy, the German Army Commander, Lemelsen, commenting that the attack had ‘got in amazingly soon’. Down near the coast, where a small bridgehead had been secured during the second week of November and enlarged considerably by the 24th, the British attack had also made good progress towards the main ridge and was continuing.

The communications for the conveyance of ammunition, food, and other requirements to the troops across the Sangro and for the passage of tanks, guns, and vehicles required the urgent erection of bridges. In the New Zealand sector the plan provided for two bridges, a Bailey bridge to serve 5 Brigade's front and (in the absence of sufficient Bailey bridging) a folding-boat bridge for 6 Brigade. These were to be erected on the night of 27 November, but owing to trucks running off the road in the darkness and others becoming bogged, the engineers were unable to commence the folding-boat bridge until a little before daylight the next morning. When daylight came, the enemy with his excellent observation directed accurate artillery fire on the bridge site, causing severe casualties and much damage and preventing further work until after dark. By 9.15 that night the bridge was able to take carefully regulated light traffic but no vehicles. The delay in the erection of the bridge prevented supplies being brought forward to the battalion and to some extent the men fended for themselves; pack mules were used and fifteen, loaded with ammunition and rations, were sent up in the late afternoon.

It was a beautiful day and ‘6 MEs paid us an early morning visit,’ wrote Wakeling, ‘but did little damage. 3 hit and run raids during the day and one a/c brought down just in front of us. A few shells landed on a face on our right.’ The appearance of New Zealand armour in their vicinity was a welcome sight to the men, six tanks of 19 Armoured Regiment appearing during the morning at Pt 171 near C Company, where they were in position to support 26 Battalion on its third objective 1200 yards to the north. These tanks had been compelled to use the Bailey bridge in 5 Brigade's sector and had been much delayed by mud and enemy shelling, a number of them being bogged beyond immediate recovery. Next day, by 9 a.m., although the approaches were a quagmire, the bridge to serve 6 Brigade was completed and seventeen tanks and about two-fifths of the battalion's support weapons were north of the river.

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A little after midday, 29 November, there was a lively little action about 2500 yards to the west of D Company when a company of 24 Battalion, supported by tanks and artillery, secured Barone, a high feature from which the enemy had directed fire on the Sangro bridges. Shortly afterwards two fighting patrols of 25 Battalion, each of one platoon from A and B Companies under Second-Lieutenants Nelson¹⁵ and Norton-Taylor, advanced to the north-west a mile beyond D Company's position on Pt 150 to the bend in Route 84 where the railway from Casoli to Castelfrentano crossed it. The patrols met with no opposition, though Nelson's platoon had one

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casualty from an S-mine; within an hour the platoons were followed up by the remainder of their companies and, a little after dark, by six-pounder anti-tank guns. The day's casualties were two wounded, Privates Jordan¹⁶ and McKeeman.¹⁷

During the morning and again in the afternoon, two bombing and strafing raids by six enemy aircraft were made against the forward positions and the Sangro bridges. The planes were engaged by New Zealand Bofors guns on both occasions, and in the afternoon one of the aircraft was shot down near the river close to B Company, the pilot rolling his aircraft and dropping by parachute. A little earlier an Allied aircraft crashed south of the river. The Allied air forces were not idle, engaging enemy defences and gun positions and in the morning scoring what appeared to be a hit on an ammunition dump near Castelfrentano.

On the 30th the advance was continued, 6 Brigade being directed slightly to the right away from Route 84 towards Castelfrentano, which was to be attacked by 24 Battalion while New Zealand armoured units advanced up Route 84 in simulation of a main attack. In the afternoon A Company (Robertshaw) pushed on to the north for about a mile, patrolling towards Pt 150, which lay 800 yards to the east of Route 84. The leading platoon was fired on from an enemy post on the hill; another platoon came forward and by 5 p.m. the post was captured with a loss of two killed (Sergeants Penman, MM and bar, and Peebles¹⁸). Twenty Germans of 146 Regiment, 65 Infantry Division (the same formation as that attacked two days ago) and nine light machine guns were captured. That night the remainder of A Company advanced and the position was occupied with two platoons forward, 9 on the right and 7 on the left, and 8 Platoon in reserve. To guard the left flank of A Company, D Company (Captain Hewitt) sent a patrol to San Eusanio railway station near Route 84, 800 yards south-west of Pt 150; the previous night a patrol had reported the station clear of the enemy, but it had been reoccupied and in a sharp action Corporal Davidson,¹⁹ the patrol leader, was

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wounded. Preceded by another patrol under Corporal Ward,²⁰ the whole of D Company went forward in the early evening, but the enemy had gone and the company took up a position near the station.

The advance of 25 Battalion was closely supported by the tanks of B Squadron 19 Armoured Regiment, which despite the rough country were well forward by dusk. The machine-gunners supporting the battalion also found the country difficult to traverse with their heavy weapons and ammunition but the men, as they always did, stuck to their tasks and never failed in their duty to be in position with the least possible delay, ready to open fire.

During the afternoon B Company (Major Possin), in reserve in its original position on Pt 122 near the Sangro, was relieved by 22 Battalion and moved nearer to Route 84 in readiness to go forward at short notice. That evening 25 Battalion, in common with the other battalions, was ordered not to advance further without permission, except for patrols, all three battalions being on an east-west line passing about a mile south of Castelfrentano. The purpose of this halt was to establish, for the moment, a firm base with a series of company localities with adequate supporting weapons.

While the infantry units with their supporting tanks and machine guns were established on their firm base, the field artillery units crossed the river to positions on the northern side. The tanks of 18 Regiment also crossed, and those of 20 Regiment were at the river bank ready to do likewise. During these movements at least one regiment of artillery was always in position ready to support the forward troops, while the heavier artillery farther back had moved forward in turn to positions vacated in the Atessa area by 6 Field Regiment. Other troops, delayed by traffic congestion, could not cross the river until 1 December. The battalion's casualties on 30 November were two killed, one died of wounds, and four wounded.

With the infantry closing on Castelfrentano, the battle for this key point on the main ridge overlooking the Sangro valley was now imminent. In the morning of 1 December 24 Battalion had orders to attack Pt 398, a prominent hill immediately south of the town and overlooking it at close range, and then exploit success into the place. If the attack did not succeed, 6 Brigade was to mount another attack at 3.30 next morning.

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At 8.45 a.m. a company of 24 Battalion, supported by another company and by artillery, mortars and machine guns, launched the attack from positions halfway up the hill, and against strong opposition and subsequent shelling and counter-attacks secured a large hotel in the town. Meanwhile, 25 Battalion consolidated its position in the San Eusanio station area, B Company coming forward up Route 84. In the afternoon C Company, with two mortar carriers and three Bren carriers under command, advanced through A Company on Pt 150 and then up rough gullies to the left of 24 Battalion. It met with no opposition, though its position 400 yards south-west of the town was a distinct threat to Route 84 west of Castelfrentano.

After dark 25 Battalion closed on its forward company and occupied the next knoll about 500 yards west of it on the same ridge. Twenty-sixth Battalion was in touch with 24 Battalion's right flank and had a company close to Route 84 where it emerged on the eastern side of the town. A little farther to the east and north-east a squadron of New Zealand Divisional Cavalry was patrolling in very difficult country towards Route 84 where it ran northwards between Castelfrentano and Lanciano, so that the town was virtually under attack on three sides. The Divisional Cavalry maintained touch on its right with Indian troops who were attacking in the coastal sector. Units of 5 Brigade cemented a firm attacking front by advancing towards the plateau to the east of Castelfrentano. Twenty-fifth Battalion's casualties that day were one killed and four wounded.

In the early morning of 2 December 24 Battalion, with air support, advanced into Castelfrentano and found that the enemy had gone.

Beyond the town the Division was confronted by another very prominent ridge five miles to the north-west, which ran south-west from Arielli through Orsogna to Guardiagrele. One thousand feet high at Arielli, the ridge rose to 1400 feet at Orsogna and to 1500 feet at Guardiagrele and was separated from the Castelfrentano ridge by the steep valleys of the Moro River, the south-east slopes of Orsogna being very precipitous. An old Roman road–termed a cart track by the Germans– gave the most direct access to Orsogna from Route 84, which it left 400 yards west of Castelfrentano. This Roman road went steeply down into the deep defile of the Moro River and joined the Lanciano-Orsogna road 1400 yards beyond the river at a point 3000 yards from Orsogna; from that point the road proceeded up the narrow and very steep-sided Brecciarola ridge

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into the town. There at the entrance the road was narrow, with houses closely bordering it on either side; on the left or southern side the ridge fell away from the buildings almost as a precipice while the northern side, while not quite so steep, had been heavily mined, as was later discovered. Thus access to Orsogna from the east was limited to this very narrow ridge, permitting practically no manoeuvre and greatly favouring the defence.

Orders were issued from Division for the advance to continue. Sixth Brigade was to go across country towards Orsogna; 24 Battalion was to cut the Lanciano-Orsogna road a mile to the east of Orsogna, while 25 Battalion, as a first step, was to move along Route 84 to make contact with 18 Armoured Regiment and 22 Battalion which were advancing northwards up Route 84 from the San Eusanio area. On the right flank of the brigade, C Squadron 19 Armoured Regiment was to move on Orsogna along the Lanciano-Orsogna road; 5 Brigade was to consolidate the position it occupied on the ridge near Castelfrentano. To the left of 6 Brigade, 4 NZ Armoured Brigade was to advance on Guardiagrele and San Martino, two and a half miles west of Orsogna.

On the afternoon of 2 December, after climbing up the steep slopes to Route 84, 25 Battalion followed the road north-west to a large bend a mile and a half from Castelfrentano, where the road turned to the south-west. By 3 p.m. the companies had taken up positions and were dug-in west of the road near the bend. About the same time 24 Battalion had reached its allotted position on the Brecciarola ridge, a mile and a half north-west of 25 Battalion. Shortly after settling into its new position, 25 Battalion despatched B Company to the vicinity of San Amoto, west of Lanciano and two and a half miles north-east of the battalion, to form a protective screen for the night for the laagered tanks of 19 Armoured Regiment which, against some opposition, had moved there from Castelfrentano. On the way B Company had a sharp clash with the enemy and captured two prisoners, one heavy mortar and four light machine guns. Prisoners taken in this area by 19 Regiment revealed the presence of 26 Panzer Division, one of the best German divisions in Italy, and it was evident that stiff fighting lay ahead.

Back at the battalion a reconnaissance of the track known as the Roman Road was made by the Transport Officer, Second- Lieutenant Edinger,²¹ and two men of the Intelligence Section

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to see whether it was suitable for vehicles. A working party from A Company and the anti-tank platoon, together with a covering party under Second-Lieutenant West²² of A Company, were also sent up the same route. Just before dusk, the working party was fired on from the high ground near Orsogna. A fighting patrol from the covering party was sent forward and without loss captured five of the enemy. There was only one casualty in the battalion that day, one man being wounded.

During the evening 25 Battalion received orders to attack at dawn through Orsogna to a ridge 2000 yards west of the town and then exploit success to San Martino, two miles farther on. In the circumstances–the difficult country and the presence of 26 Panzer Division (though possibly not known when the order was issued)–it was an optimistic order, reflecting the optimism generally felt by Eighth Army at the time. At 1.30 a.m. on 3 December, with D Company leading, followed by C Com-

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pany, Battalion Headquarters, and A Company, the battalion advanced towards Orsogna via the Roman Road and the Lanciano-Orsogna road; B Company was still detached with the tanks. After an hour and three-quarters the column halted to form up, just beyond the forward positions of 24 Battalion, near which Battalion Headquarters was temporarily established. D Company (Captain Hewitt) deployed on both sides of the road and advanced slowly towards Orsogna, followed by C Company (Captain Webster) in the same formation. A Company (Major Robertshaw) in reserve dug in 1200 yards from the eastern outskirts of Orsogna. At its previous position 25 Battalion had been in telephonic communication with Brigade Headquarters but was now dependent on wireless.

Shortly after 6 a.m. at first light, D Company was on the outskirts of the town and had met with no opposition, though it had captured three Germans who had been digging a weapon pit. With 17 Platoon on the right and 18 Platoon on the left, the company advanced into the town; the two leading platoons had orders to go right through and leave to 16 Platoon the task of clearing the buildings. Good progress was made until the centre of Orsogna had been passed, when a German armoured car, which had come down the main street to the town square, opened fire from the rear on the two leading platoons. Under cover of supporting fire from the reserve platoon, 17 and 18 Platoons tried to work round to the south to engage the armoured car from that flank, but heavy fire from enemy infantry posts on both flanks forced the two platoons to take cover in the buildings.

Meanwhile a section of carriers under Sergeant O'Neill²³ had entered the eastern side of the town. O'Neill explains what happened:

‘At 0610 hrs 3/12/43 my section of carriers (3) moved in support of D Coy to take the village of Orsogna. On entering the village we heard MG fire and also saw tracer going over our heads. We received orders to wipe out Spandau post in a group of houses and moved accordingly. The post on arrival, had been vacated so we then proceeded in direction of main road through village. While [we were] moving along an anti-tank gun opened on to us and we immediately went to cover at rear of houses. Later we were joined by C Company and remained in our position. We attempted to engage Spandau

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post on the ridge to the right of the village with our .5 MMG but could not get any reply. At approx 1000 hrs ten enemy tanks were observed on the right ridge. Five of the tanks placed themselves in position on the ridge and the other five went around in the direction of the village. The tanks on the ridge then shelled the village and also the houses in which we were quartered. Soon after, our own artillery opened up but the shells were falling short and landed in among C Coy troops and also hit the houses. I then attempted to OP for the arty and managed to increase the range to hit on the top of the right ridge but could not get them to shift in the right direction. While on OP work I heard C Coy being warned to withdraw and soon after Spandaus opened from our left and right flanks, while the enemy tanks were shelling the road.

‘I rounded up all my section personnel and confirmed a report that a tank was coming down the village road towards us. The three carriers had to be abandoned with all the equipent, etc., as we could not get on to the road in time, and all the personnel came away from the village.

‘Shortly after, I observed enemy personnel moving amongst the houses we had vacated.’

The enemy advance into the town frustrated any attempts by 17 and 18 Platoons to withdraw and both platoons were forced to surrender. As the enemy counter-attack developed, 16 Platoon had been ordered to hold its position as supporting tanks were expected. None appeared, however, and when the German tanks approached, the seven men who were all that remained of the platoon made a dash from the building they were occupying, ran along a street under fire, and escaped down a steep slope into a gully.

From its position at the eastern edge of the town C Company had been engaging the enemy, as opportunity offered, to cover the withdrawal of D Company, but the approach of the Germans necessitated a hurried retreat down a gully on the northern side of the Lanciano-Orsogna road. Enemy artillery and machine guns harassed the retiring troops and the road was heavily shelled all day.

Retiring through the position held by 24 Battalion, C Company, with the remnants of D Company and the men of the section of carriers, reorganised about a mile to the east of that battalion. Early the next day, 4 December, A Company, which had continued to hold its forward position in front of 24 Battalion, also retired and, with Battalion Headquarters, joined

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C and D Companies. The battalion's casualties were one officer (Second-Lieutenant Fordie,²⁴ D Company) and three other ranks killed; one officer (Lieutenant Coleman, D Company) and fifty-two other ranks (including eight wounded) prisoners of war; and twenty-five other ranks wounded.

Although during the attack on the previous day tanks had not appeared in support of the battalion, they had not been inactive. When, at seven in the morning, Brigadier Parkinson had learnt that 25 Battalion was in trouble, he called urgently for armoured assistance from 4 Armoured Brigade and directed a troop of C Squadron, 19 Regiment, to use its guns in support of the battalion. From the road ahead of Castelfrentano the troop fired on the enemy assembling to the north-west of C Company and on the advancing tanks; by midday medium artillery also was in action against Orsogna. Two troops, each of three tanks, of A Squadron, 18 Armoured Regiment, in reserve about eight miles back near the Aventino River, moved up but were unable to reach 24 Battalion's position before 11 a.m., by which time C and D Companies of 25 Battalion had retired. The two troops, however, advanced up the road past A Company to within 500 yards of the outskirts of Orsogna and there fired on two German tanks which were advancing eastwards. One of these was disabled and abandoned by its crew, the other withdrew.

The remainder of A Squadron, 18 Regiment, also came forward, though some time after the two leading troops, but before reaching A Company had three tanks bogged and only two got through; these remained near A Company and fired on Orsogna, forming a defensive line when at nightfall the two leading troops withdrew to that vicinity.

The field artillery of the Division had also been engaged, all the regiments after midday firing on the enemy gun positions and, together with the air force, attacking the road running north-eastwards from Orsogna to Poggiofiorito and Ortona on the coast, eight miles beyond. The enemy aircraft had also taken part, bombing and strafing the forward positions, and the men saw more enemy machines than they had seen hitherto in Italy. The Germans were not allowed, however, to escape unscathed. About ten in the morning Spitfires had intervened and a running fight took place; in mid-afternoon the New Zealand Bofors shot down one aircraft and possibly a second.

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The operations of 25 Battalion on 3 December had resulted in a most unfortunate reverse which, it would seem, might well have been avoided. With no defence against tanks, the troops had little prospect of success. In a review of the operation the question arises as to whether too optimistic a view was taken in directing the battalion to attack an objective 2000 yards beyond Orsogna and then to exploit up to a further two miles. Penetration to such a depth, on a front which must necessarily have been narrow, exposed the battalion to counter-attacks from the flanks which could have been very dangerous, even if only enemy infantry was employed and our supporting battalions came forward. But with the great probability of enemy tanks being present on such a long and prominent ridge, containing both rail and road communications, the hazards were greatly increased, necessitating the presence of supporting anti-tank weapons and tanks well forward with the infantry and powerful and well-planned artillery support. If the difficulties associated with getting the artillery across the Sangro made proper artillery support impracticable, that could have been accepted, but the other requirements would then have been all the more imperative.

As regards the question of tank support, on 2 December C Squadron, 19 Armoured Regiment, on the right flank had already started via a secondary road (Loudon's Road) for its junction with the Lanciano-Orsogna road, two and a half miles to the north of Castelfrentano, when General Freyberg issued orders for the squadron to advance to Orsogna and from there to push out light patrols to Guardiagrele and San Martino. On its way north the squadron encountered and overcame enemy opposition, and on reaching the Lanciano-Orsogna road turned towards Orsogna but was stopped in the early afternoon by a blown bridge across the Moro River, which it found impossible to by-pass. As already related, the squadron laagered in the vicinity for the night 2 – 3 December, under the protection of B Company, 25 Battalion, and the following morning used its guns against the enemy in and near Orsogna. Had this squadron received General Freyberg's order in time to have taken the direct route to Orsogna, the same as that taken by 25 Battalion and the two troops of 18 Regiment, or had it been able to circumvent the blown bridge and move on Orsogna at dawn on the 3rd, the tank support then available for 25 Battalion may well have given the New Zealand attack a secure grip of Orsogna. The remainder of 19 Regiment was in the

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vicinity of Castelfrentano, and when it was known that C Squadron was stopped at the Moro there seems to be no reason why another squadron was not ordered forward via the Roman Road.

The absence of the support weapons of the battalion requires some explanation. Twenty-fourth Battalion, which advanced towards Orsogna early in the afternoon of the 2nd, was established on the Brecciarola ridge and dug in by 5 p.m., waiting for its support weapons, which by 10 p.m. arrived via the Roman Road. Yet 25 Battalion, which passed through 24 Battalion five hours later and then, after another three hours, attacked Orsogna only a mile away, had no support weapons. It appears that a combination of bad roads, the receipt after dark (at 10 p.m.) of the order to attack Orsogna at dawn (necessitating an approach march at night), and severe shelling of the road when daylight came prevented the support weapons from reaching the battalion. An extract from the battalion's war diary reads: ‘… very wintry weather resulting in D Coy being cut off in Orsogna as support weapons were unable to move through the heavy going to support the attack.’

In considering 25 Battalion's attack it must be remembered that the battalion had been deprived of B Company and so had three companies only for its extensive task. In the event this reduction in strength, though it could have been important, was of no account as in the attack only two companies were actively employed, and one of these was in a supporting role and did not enter the town.

But, important as the above considerations may be, the ques tion of the timing of the attack was even more so. Obviously, the less time allowed a retreating enemy to organise, reinforce, and improve his next position, the greater would be the pros pects of success. Orsogna could have been attacked by 24 Battalion during the afternoon of 2 December or by 25 Battalion by the late afternoon. Supporting weapons, for 24 Battalion at least, were available by 10 p.m., and for both battalions could have been at Orsogna by dawn on 3 December. The enemy was given from eight to twelve hours to prepare for the attack, and during that period may well have laid the numerous mines found in front of his position. But most unfortunately, as was subsequently learnt, he was able to bring into the Orsogna position by midnight on 2 – 3 December the 26 Panzer Division's reconnaissance unit (the first company of which reached Orsogna at 6.30 p.m. on the 2nd), together with a

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company of tanks (including flame-throwers) and two 20-millimetre four-barrelled anti-aircraft guns. The intervention of this reinforcement was a natural consequence of the delay in mounting the attack.

On the morning of the 4th 24 Battalion found Orsogna strongly held and at 5 p.m. 25 Battalion moved up on the right of 24 Battalion, extending the front along the San Felice ridge to the north-east, where it was about 800 yards west of the Lanciano-Orsogna road. A Company was on the right and B Company (which had rejoined during the day) was on the left, each on a front of 700 yards. A night standing patrol near the fork of two rivers, 400 yards north of A Company's right flank, was established by 9 Platoon. The remnants of D Company were accommodated in a house behind 24 Battalion and 800 yards to the south-west of 25 Battalion.

During the morning of 4 December a patrol from 23 Battalion, which held a reserve position on Loudon's Road, a mile or more to the south-east, reported to 25 Battalion. It had the somewhat ambitious project of shooting-up traffic and laying mines on the Poggiofiorito-Orsogna road, two miles to the north-west. Twenty-fifth Battalion was able to steer it clear of its proposed route up the Sfasciata ridge, which was strongly held by the enemy; although it did not achieve its object the patrol had various contacts with the enemy and returned to its battalion the next morning. On the afternoon of the 4th carriers of 23 Battalion were also in touch with 25 Battalion.

C Company, temporarily situated close to the Moro River near the road bend 500 yards east of B Company, had orders to put out that night, 4 – 5 December, a strong standing patrol on the Sfasciata ridge, 700 yards to the north-west of A Company's standing patrol. To prepare the way the locality was first subjected, at 10 p.m., to heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. An hour after midnight 13 and 15 Platoons, with a line party of signallers and with snipers and intelligence personnel attached, left Company Headquarters and, moving down the bed of the Moro River, formed up about 300 yards north-east of A Company's patrol. On a total frontage of 100 yards, 13 Platoon was on the right and 15 on the left. The platoons then advanced due west up the steep face towards the Sfasciata ridge for about 400 yards, when about 3.30 a.m. German flares went up followed by machine-gun, mortar, and rifle fire from steeply rising ground on the right. The two platoons advanced slowly up the slope, silencing four machine-gun posts on the way, but were finally

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pinned down by heavy fire from a flat-topped hill above them.

This was an hour after first contact had been made and the platoon commanders decided to withdraw. On reaching A Company both platoons were placed on the right flank, extending it for about 300 yards eastwards across the stream. The battalion's casualties on 4 December were one officer (Captain Frost, Carrier Platoon) died of wounds, and one man wounded.

On the left flank of 6 Brigade, 26 Battalion was in position below the Brecciarola ridge in the Moro valley south of 24 Battalion. There had been heavy rain on the 4th which caused a high flood in the Sangro, and by the evening this had washed away the bridge on 6 Brigade's original sector and was threatening the other bridges; that night the only bridge remaining on Eighth Army's front was a 24-ton class Bailey bridge which, by 1 December, had been erected near the bridge in 5 Brigade's original sector. The northern approach had, however, been washed away in places and until 11 a.m. on the 5th, when the damage was repaired, the Sangro was impassable. This situation emphasised the grave menace such a river could be to forces established beyond it, and it was only the clearing of the weather during the night, which enabled flood waters to be dammed and the approach repaired, that on this occasion relieved a crisis.

On the morning of 5 December 3 MG Company and 10 Platoon of 4 MG Company occupied positions on the right rear of 25 Battalion, in the vicinity of Hellfire Corner, from which they could engage the enemy on the Sfasciata ridge. This was part of a plan for a full-scale attack on the enemy positions between Sfasciata and Orsogna and for harassing him on Sfasciata. There was some patrol activity by 25 Battalion that day. In the early afternoon Second-Lieutenant Lawson²⁵ of A Company took a reconnaissance patrol to investigate suspected minefields, and after dark another patrol under Sergeant Chapman²⁶ of B Company went down the Mor