Zoyeford: small cleanup citations per sources and improved wording

2026-01-08T23:54:49Z

small cleanup citations per sources and improved wording

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:24, 9 January 2026
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			{{Short description\|1943 battle of the Italian Campaign in WWII}}
	{{Infobox military conflict		{{Infobox military conflict
	\|conflict=Battle of Monte la Difensa		\|conflict=Battle of Monte la Difensa
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	== The battle ==		== The battle ==
	The action was the first combat in the Italian theatre for the US-Canadian commando unit [[1st Special Service Force]]. They were attached to the [[36th Infantry Division (United States)\|U.S. 36th Infantry Division]]. The [[1st Special Service Force\|1st SSF]] used the special training that they had received in [[winter warfare\|winter]] and [[mountain warfare]] to scale the mountain and overcome the Germans atop the stronghold.		The action was the first combat in the Italian theatre for the US-Canadian commando unit [[1st Special Service Force]] (1st SSF). They were attached to the [[36th Infantry Division (United States)\|U.S. 36th Infantry Division]]. The [[1st Special Service Force\|1st SSF]] used the special training that they had received in [[winter warfare\|winter]] and [[mountain warfare]] to scale the mountain and overcome the Germans atop the stronghold.

	With the rest of 36th Division on 1st SSF's right attacking Monte Maggiore and [[56th (London) Division\|British 56th Infantry Division]] (attacking Monte Camino) and [[46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)\|British 46th Infantry Division]] on their left, it took 5 days heavy fighting for the Camino hill mass to be cleared. [[Casualties]] were high. After a pause to regroup the U.S. Fifth Army renewed its offensive but it took until mid-January to advance the {{convert\|10\|mi\|km}} to [[Cassino]] at the mouth of the [[Liri river\|Liri valley]] and the formidable [[Gustav Line]] defenses, where the Allies were halted by stubborn German defense until May 1944.		With the rest of 36th Division on 1st SSF's right attacking Monte Maggiore and [[56th (London) Division\|British 56th Infantry Division]] (attacking Monte Camino) and [[46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)\|British 46th Infantry Division]] on their left, it took 5 days heavy fighting for the Camino hill mass to be cleared. [[Casualties]] were high. After a pause to regroup the U.S. Fifth Army renewed its offensive but it took until mid-January to advance the {{convert\|10\|mi\|km}} to [[Cassino]] at the mouth of the [[Liri river\|Liri valley]] and the formidable [[Gustav Line]] defenses, where the Allies were halted by stubborn German defense until May 1944.
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	[[Category:Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom\|Monte la Difensa]]		[[Category:Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom\|Monte la Difensa]]
	[[Category:~~World War II~~ operations ~~and battles~~ of the Italian ~~Campaign~~\|Monte la Difensa]]		[[Category:Battles and operations of the Italian campaign (World War II)\|Monte la Difensa]]
	[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada\|Monte la Difensa]]		[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada\|Monte la Difensa]]
	[[Category:December 1943 ~~events~~]]		[[Category:December 1943 in Europe]]
			[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Germany]]

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2022-11-16T16:38:55Z

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{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Battle of Monte la Difensa
|partof=the fighting for the [[Bernhardt Line]]
|campaign=
|image=File:MonteLaDifensa1943 12.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Action around Monte La Difensa 3–9 December 1943
|date=December 3, 1943 – December 9, 1943
|place=Hill 960, [[Italy]]
|coordinates={{Coord|41|22|59.88|N|13|55|59.77|E|display=title,inline}}
|result=Allied victory
|combatant1={{flag|United Kingdom}}<br>{{flag|United States|1912}}<br>{{flag|Canada|1921}}
|combatant2={{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
|commander1=
|commander2=
|strength1=
|strength2=
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
|campaignbox={{Campaignbox Italy}}
{{Campaignbox Winter Line}}
}}

The '''Battle of Monte La Difensa''' took place between 3 December and 9 December 1943 during ''Operation Raincoat'', part of the Battle for the [[Bernhardt Line]] during the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] in [[World War II]].

== Background ==
Monte La Difensa (also known as Hill 960) was one of the peaks forming the Camino hill mass which formed the left-hand "gatepost" dominating the Mignano Gap, key to the [[United States Army North|U.S. Fifth Army]]'s route to [[Cassino]], the Liri valley, and thence to [[Rome]]. The mountain itself had become a stalemate for [[United States Army|American]] and [[British Army|British]] troops because of the defenses employed by the [[Wehrmacht|German troops]], part of the [[Bernhardt Line]].

== The battle ==
The action was the first combat in the Italian theatre for the US-Canadian commando unit [[1st Special Service Force]]. They were attached to the [[36th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 36th Infantry Division]]. The [[1st Special Service Force|1st SSF]] used the special training that they had received in [[winter warfare|winter]] and [[mountain warfare]] to scale the mountain and overcome the Germans atop the stronghold.

With the rest of 36th Division on 1st SSF's right attacking Monte Maggiore and [[56th (London) Division|British 56th Infantry Division]] (attacking Monte Camino) and [[46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 46th Infantry Division]] on their left, it took 5 days heavy fighting for the Camino hill mass to be cleared. [[Casualties]] were high. After a pause to regroup the U.S. Fifth Army renewed its offensive but it took until mid-January to advance the {{convert|10|mi|km}} to [[Cassino]] at the mouth of the [[Liri river|Liri valley]] and the formidable [[Gustav Line]] defenses, where the Allies were halted by stubborn German defense until May 1944.

==In media==
* The successful assault on Difensa was the setting for the climax of the 1968 motion picture, ''[[The Devil's Brigade (film)|The Devil's Brigade]]''.
* Part 2 of the series ''WW2 Greatest Raids'' called "Mountain Massacre", depicting the battle, was broadcast by [[National Geographic (American TV channel)|National Geographic]].

==See also==
* [[Winter Line]]

==Sources==
* {{cite book | url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/winterline/winter-fm.htm | title = Fifth Army at the Winter Line 15 November 1943 - 15 January 1944 | series = American Forces in Action series | year = 1990 | publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] | location = Washington | orig-year = 1945 | id = CMH Pub 100-9 | access-date = 21 July 2010 | archive-date = 21 November 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121121000001/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/winterline/winter-fm.htm | url-status = dead }}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom|Monte la Difensa]]
[[Category:World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign|Monte la Difensa]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada|Monte la Difensa]]
[[Category:December 1943 events]]

Battle of Monte la Difensa - Revision history

Zoyeford: small cleanup citations per sources and improved wording

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