Cassino to the Alps - US Army Center Of Military History

BREAKTHROUGH ON THE FIFTH ARMY'S FRONT 473
ersed the lateral road leading northeast
from Castel d' Aiano to enter the village
of Serra Sarzana, a mile to the northeast
of Castel d' Aiano and two miles
southeast of Monte Pigna, one of the
major features of the Roffeno massif.
When the mountain infantry attem pted
to continue, heavy enemy artillery fire
forced them to shelter in the ruins of
the village, while from the high ground
to the west, not at that point cleared by
the 85th Mountain Infantry, enemy
machine guns probed with fire . Only
when that fire ceased, probably as a
result of the regiment's advance, was
the I st Battalion able to lead the way
into the neighboring village of Torre
Iussi. While the battalion fought
through the village house by house,
Colonel Fowler sent the 2d Battalion to
bypass the village and capture Hill 903,
high ground overlooking Torre Iussi.
The maneuver was sufficient to convince
the Germans that to fight any
longer invited envelopment. They
promptly withdrew from both village
and hill.
On the 10th Mountain Division's
right wing the 86th Mountain Infantry,
under Col. Clarence Tomlinson, attacked
with the 2d Battalion forward
toward the northern slope of the Rocca
Ro ffe no. Those men too came under
heavy fire from the enemy on Hill 903,
but once that feature fell to the 87th
Mountain Infantry, men of the 86th
Mountain Infantry were able to scale a
nearby height and by late afternoon
take the height of Rocca Roffeno.
Continued resistance and the coming
of darkness nevertheless prevented further
advance. Yet unknown to the men
of the 10th Mountain Division, they
had opened a serious breach between
MOUNTAIN INFANTRY IN TOLE AREA
the 334th and 94th Divisions. Any further
American advance to the northeast,
the Germans feared, would outflank
the 94th Division. In an effort to
prevent that, the 94th Division commander,
General Steinmetz, rushed forward
his reserve battalion to close the
gap. It was too late. The plight of the
defenders of the Rocca Roffeno position
became evident that night via a
radio message from the survivors: "Fire
on our position .... " Then the radio
fell silent. 8
The Americans, meanwhile, had settled
down on their newly-won ground
to await the customary counterattack,
but none came. Instead only sporadic
artillery fire and occasional flares indicated
that an enemy still waited in the
8 MS II T-lb (Westphal et a/.), Part II, Die 94th
Grenadier Division.