Cassino to the Alps - US Army Center Of Military History

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The counterattacks halted, Company
B, despite severe casualties, continued
to hold on the western end of the
Monticelli ridge. To conserve his company's
dwindling strength, Captain Inman
consolidated his force, pulling back
Murphy's platoon from its exposed position
and placing it nearer Rosselini's
platoon, but Notaro and his small detachment
remained for the night in
their exposed positions on the left.
Throughout the night, by the light of
German flares, the two sides exchanged
small arms fire arid hand grenades.
At dawn on the 16th, men whom
Inman had sent back during the night
for supplies returned with ammunition
and a new battery for the company
radio, which despite three bullet holes
in its chassis had continued to function.
As yet no battalion carrying party had
reached the company. Although two
attached litter bearer teams worked all
night trying to evacuate the wounded,
morning found some wounded still in
the company area. The large number
of casualties. and a long trek over
rugged terrain to the battalion dressing
station had been more than the two
teams could handle.
Meanwhile, to Company B's right,
Company C, after breaching a mine
field and overcoming an enemy position
bypassed earlier by Inman's company,
had reached a point within 200
yards of Company B, while on the left,
Company G, attached from the 2d
Battalion, took up position to Company
B's left rear. That was the situation
when soon after daylight a sudden
burst of enemy small arms fire struck
and wounded Captain Inman. Command
of Company B passed to Lieutenant
Rosselini.
CASSINO TO THE ALPS
The coming of daylight revealed that
during the night the Germans had
moved into the positions on the left
flank held previously by Sergeant M urphy's
platoon. That made Lieutenant
Notaro's detachment on the extreme
left flank even more vulnerable than
before and also jeopardized Murphy's
platoon. Reduced to 17 men, Sergeant
Murphy gained reinforcements by integrating
into his defenses seven men of
a mortar section that had fired all its
ammunition.
Throughout the 16th and well into
the following day, the Germans attacked
again and again against Company
B's vulnerable left flank in desperate
attempts to regain control of the
ridge. Yet somehow the little band of
Americans held. The successful defense
owed much to Pfe. Oscar G. Johnson,
one of the seven mortarmen that Sergeant
Murphy had deployed as riflemen.
Standing at times to get a better
view of the enemy, Private Johnson
directed a steady stream of fire at each
of the counterattacks. During lulls in
the fighting he crawled around the area
gathering up all available weapons and
ammunition from the dead and
wounded and then returned to his own
position to resume firing. When weapons
malfunctioned, he cannibalized
those he had collected for replacement
parts. By the afternoon of the 16th
Johnson was the only man left in his
squad alive or unwounded. Nevertheless,
he continued to fight through the
night, beating back several attempts to
infiltrate his position. Twice the intense
fire drove back or wounded men sent
to help him. Not until the next morning
did help finally arrive. For his
steadfast defense of Company B's left