Initially all went well. When the Allied advance started the Germans were engaged in carrying out a series of reliefs in the coastal area, which involved the pulling back of a division from forward positions on the Metauro. Kesselring indeed assumed that the attack on August 25 was no more than a follow-up of this withdrawal. Vietinghoff himself was on leave and only got back late on August 28. The next day the Allied infantry reached the Foglia and Kesselring, who had been taken completely by surprise, at last ordered up reinforcements. But it was too late to stop the penetration of the carefully prepared Gothic Line positions. On August 31 the 46th Division held the formidable bastion of Monte-gridolfo and the following night Gurkhas of the 4th Indian Division, using only grenades and kukris, captured the strongly fortified town of Tavoleto. In the plain.
The Canadians had suffered heavily crossing the river but by dawn on September 3 had a bridgehead across the Conca alongside Route 16. Meanwhile both the 26th Panzer and 98th Divisions had reached the battle area and already suffered heavily.
The way to a breakthrough by V Corps lay in the capture of two hill features, the Coriano and Gemmano Ridges, situated just where the plain begins to widen out. These afforded the Germans excellent observation and fine positions. The task of breaking through was given to the 46th and 56th Divisions. Meanwhile, the British 1st Armoured Division, with some 300 tanks, had already started (on August 31) to move forward in accordance with the original plan. The approach march over narrow and often precipitous tracks, which got progressively worse, proved a nightmare. On one stage "along razor-edged mountain ridges” to reach the Foglia, which was crossed on September 3, drivers of the heavier vehicles had to reverse to get round every corner and some spent 50 hours at the wheel. The tank route proved even more hazardous, and 20 tanks were lost before reaching the assembly area. The driving conditions were extremely exhausting and as the column ground its way forward in low gear many tanks ran out of petrol, while those at the rear of the column were engulfed in dense clouds of choking white dust.
At this critical moment the German 162nd Division and Kesselring’s last mobile reserve, the experienced 29th Panzergrenadier Division (from Bologna) began to arrive. The renewed attacks
The American M24 Chaffee light tank
Weight: 18 tons.
Crew: 5.
Armament: one 75-mm M6 gun with 48 rounds, and one.5-inch Browning M2 and two.3-inch Browning M1919A4 machine guns with 420 and 4,125 rounds respectively. Armour: hull front and sides 25-mm, lower sides and rear 19-mm, decking 13-mm, and belly 6.5-mm: turret front and mantlet 38-mm, sides 25-mm, and roof 13-mm.
Engines: two Cadillac Model 44T24 inlines, 110-hp each. Speed: 30 mph.
Range: 100 miles.
Length: 18 feet.
Width: 9 feet 8 inches.
Height: 8 feet 1J inches.
World History
