The battle of San Pietro - Reel 1-3

Discussion in 'Italy' started by mikky, Apr 8, 2013.

  1. mikky

    mikky Member

    stolpi likes this.
  2. Bernard85

    Bernard85 WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    good afternoon mikky.08:april.2013.07:04pm.re:sanpietro-reel 2(1944)I have just watched reel.2 of your collection.it must have been hell on earth.it was all those lives for a crapp of a hill,you have say it,they were bloody heroes.they just never made it home.i feel a great respect for those men.thank you for posting.all the best.bernard85
     
  3. mikky

    mikky Member

    Thanks Bernard. Hell on earth indeed.

    Mike
     
  4. Rotherfield

    Rotherfield Senior Member

    Hi Mikky
    I have visited San Pietro many times, was there last year only to find that you now have to pay to walk around the village, where once you could stroll around at your leasure, now you have to have a guide, so to me its not the same.I first went there in 1994 and every year since but I think I will give it a miss this year.
    I do believe that the Texas 36th Div has never fogiven Mark Clark for the slaughter they experienced there and at San Angelo just further on.
    rotherfiled
     
  5. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Mike.

    And rightly so.

    Mark Clark butchered 36 US Inf Div at both these locations. Ironically, they rescued his reputation when he switched from Op BUFFALO to Op TURTLE in an attempt to get to Rome quicker and then promptly came up against the implacable wall of the German Army.

    It was only the brilliant and Divisional operation to climb Monte Artemisio at night and unlock the Caesar Line that saved the day. In appreciation, Clark sacked Fred Walker the Commanding General very soon after.

    The man was a menace.

    Regards

    FdeP
     
  6. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

  7. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Richard
    Don't really need to see Mark Clark in any kind of action as we had enough of him at the time with his idiocy at Salerno - San Pietro and Anzio - his ego was the reason we had to fight for the Gothic Line and lose 14,000 KIA's

    THEN he was given both armies to play with - but fortunately we had McCreery to save his bacon at the Argenta Gap........to finish off the campaign......then he was sent to Korea.....not surprising they didn't win that either....



    Frank -
    it was No 1 Special Brigade that climbed Artemiso - to save the day- Clark wasn't fit to tie Walkers boot laces - Walker was very good - so he had to go - the bde was a mix of US and Canadian Commando types...

    Cheers
     
  8. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    BBC radio 4 audio drama... on air (later today) then on BBC Sounds...

    BBC Radio 4 - Ambler, The Battle of San Pietro

    The Battle of San Pietro
    Ambler
    By Nick Perry
    In 1944, British spy novelist Eric Ambler and Hollywood film director John Huston were paired up to make a film to support the Allied war effort. Neither Huston nor Ambler had made a documentary before; they were used to writing the script then shooting and now they were going to shoot before writing. They agreed that there would be no staging, no re-enactment, nothing fake or artificial in their production. But the ethics of both men were tested by the reality of crafting a story in a war zone.
    John Huston . . . Elliot Cowan
    Eric Ambler . . . Joseph Kloska
    Jules Buck . . . Joseph Ayre
    Colonel Gillette . . . Nathan Osgood
    The Interviewer . . . Lorelei King
    David MacDonald . . . Christopher Harper
    General Harrison . . . Kenny Blyth
    Elsie . . . Helen Clapp
    Director . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
     
    JimHerriot and Owen like this.
  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Caught the last 20 minutes of it this afternoon .
    Will have to catch up with the rest on iPlayer tomorrow.
    To be honest I didn't know much about the battle or film.
     
    JimHerriot likes this.
  10. Stuart Avery

    Stuart Avery In my wagon & not a muleteer.

    Like wise. Flicked over to it today in my wagon.

    Regards,
    Stu.
     
    JimHerriot likes this.
  11. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    For those who are new to the subject, San Pietro was one of the series of engagements which together made up the Battle of the Mignano Gap. Some British members are doubtless familiar with the terrible struggle of X Corps for Monte Camino. The Camino hillmass complex formed the southern wall of the gap, while Monte Sammucro and the Appenine footills beyond it formed the northern wall. Monte Lungo lay in the center of the gap, with the village of San Pietro Infine just to the north of Lungo on the southern slope of Sammucro. In December of '43 the US 36th Infantry Division launched a series of unsuccessful and very costly attacks on San Pietro. At the same time, US 3rd Infantry Division, an Italian brigade, and X Corps were having little more success against the other parts of the gap. San Pietro finally fell when the higher ground around it was captured, Monte Sammucro by the 36th and the Camino hillmass complex by X Corps and the 1st Special Service Force. The battle left the 36th so exhausted and depleted as to be of doubtful offensive value. It should probably have been withdrawn to rest and rebuild before being committed again, but as we know Clark chose to send the 36th into another costly assault on the Rapido. The maps and photos attached give you the picture. Huston's film of the battle has been extravagantly and to some extent justly praised, but Rick Atkinson says that Huston faked or re-staged at least some of it.
     

    Attached Files:

  12. Stuart Avery

    Stuart Avery In my wagon & not a muleteer.

    For all those that have a interest in this fine Division, then I would strongly advise in buying a copy of the book below. A copy should still be able to buy at a decent price. Here are some of the pages that I scanned some time ago. Its a shame that I did not scan it all.
    Page Viii makes interesting reading about the General Mark Toss... Clarke. I'm sure they have a memorial that is north of M. Trocchio, in the village of La Pieta? minden1759 will confirm this. I did take a photo of it, but it did not turn-out well. If anyone requires Chapter III. THE BATTLE FOR SAN PIETRO, then start a PM with me & I will send on.

    Regards
    Stu.
    rsz_1-0_2.jpg
    rsz_1-6.jpg
    rsz_1-7.jpg
    rsz_1-8.jpg
     
    TTH, JimHerriot, Owen and 1 other person like this.
  13. bexley84

    bexley84 Well-Known Member

    Some randoms I took back in the day (Oct 2013):

    P1080733 (2).JPG
     

    Attached Files:

  14. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Stu.

    The 36 US Inf Div memorial is in the village square in Sant Angelo. It is cut from Texan pink marble and matches the one at Paestum where they landed on 9 Sep 43.

    Regards

    Frank
     
    Stuart Avery likes this.
  15. Stuart Avery

    Stuart Avery In my wagon & not a muleteer.

    I did not take a close up of the engraving. M.Trocchio is in the background to the left. Its the best of the two.
    rsz_2015-04-21_003938.jpg
    Stu.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2021
    minden1759 and TTH like this.
  16. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    One of mine from May 2008.

    36 div 2008.jpg
     
    minden1759, Ramiles and TTH like this.

Share This Page