Cassino to the Alps - US Army Center Of Military History

246
betello and occupied San Stefano, the
142d Infantry, accom panied by tanks,
crossed the hills on the division's right
wing toward the village of Capalbio.
The regiment brushed aside a weak
counterattack by elements of the 162d
TurkomRn Division to occupy the village
before noon on the 11 tho That afternoon
and throughout the next day the
troops continued to advance-the infantry
across the hills and the tanks
through the narrow valleys-northwest
to high ground just south of lateral
Route 74. 16
By the evening of 12 June, Walker's
36th Division was within sight of the
Albegna River, which parallels Route 74
and enters the Tyrrhenian Sea five
miles northwest of Orbetello. The general
had planned crossings of the river
that night, but it turned out that all
bridges were destroyed and that the
water was too deep for fording. Postponing
the attack until morning, he put
his engineers to work constructing footbridges
in the darkness. Shortly before
dawn on the 13th, the 142d Infantry,
followed by the 143d on the left, began
to cross.
The 143d Infantry encountered little
opposition until reaching the village of
Bengodi on the banks of the smaller
but deeper Osa River, three to four
miles north of the Albegna. 17 Not so
with the 142d Infantry on the right. As
that regiment neared the village of
Magliano, five miles north of the Albegna,
heavy fire from that village and
the hills to the north brought the men
to a halt. They attem pted to outflank
the village to the east, but resistance was
I" IV Corps AAR, Jun 44; 36th Div Hist Rpt, Jun
44.
17 36th Div Hist Rpt, Jun 44.
CASSINO TO THE ALPS
firm there as well. Nevertheless, by
1500 the 2d Battalion, supported by
tank and heavy artillery fire directed
against the enemy in the hills to the
north, managed to win a foothold in
the outskirts of Magliano. During the
rest of the afternoon and throughout
the night the infantry inched into the
village house by house and street by
street. The village's fall opened a road
along which the division could outflank
Grosseto from the southeast, as it had
done earlier at Orbetello. Throughout
the afternoon the 142d infantry continued
to move up until its leading battalions
occupied high ground flanking the
Magliano-Grosseto road. That night the
361st infantry came forward to spell
the 142d. 18
Meanwhile, throughout the 14th, the
143d Infantry continued to forge ahead
astride the coastal highway. Attacking at
dawn, the 2d and 3d Battalions required
five hours to drive the enemy
from the flanking high ground north
of Bengodi, in the process capturing
fifty prisoners and five artillery pieces.
For the rest of the afternoon the two
battalions advanced against slackening
opposition, as the Germans, having lost
Magliano, fell back across the corps
front toward Grosseto. By dark the
regiment had come within twelve miles
of Grosseto and the Ombrone River. 19
Moving before dawn on the 15th, a
battalion on each side of the highway,
the 143d Infantry encountered no resistance
in occupying the high ground
1 K Ibid. During the battle for Magliano, S. Sgt.
Homer L. Wise's fearless and skillful leadership of
his rille platoon enabled the 2d Battalion to seize its
objective. For this action Sergeant Wise was
awarded the Medal of Honor.
19 IV Corps AAR, Jun 44.