“From the frozen spine of the Colorado Rockies to the icy steeps of Riva Ridge in Italy, Maurice Isserman skillfully tracks the birth of the 10th Mountain Division and its harrowing World War II battles. The fighting in February broke their spirit. Records document the activities of the 10th Mountain Division from its formation at the beginning of World War II, through its training at various locations including Camp Hale, Colorado and ending with its combat operations in Italy during 1945. Sergeant Evans and his squad, mixed with men from other platoons, found themselves just downhill of the final German stronghold on Gorgolesco’s summit. Geography dictated that European armies needed to take alpine fighting seriously since so many national borders ran along the crest of mountains. It was February 16, 1945. But the most difficult and prolonged phase of the battle was just beginning, as the 85th’s 2nd Battalion moved through the advanced American lines below Gorgolesco to the final objective, Mount della Torraccia. The division was special in a number of ways. In 1987, Denver Public Library partnered with History Colorado and the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division to create the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center. Fischer was badly wounded, with a bullet through his lungs, and kept repeating, “Oh God. Despite the chilly February air, the men were soon sweating from exertion, especially the seven-man mortar crews in D Company laden with their 81mm mortars and ammunition. CHRONOLOGY OF THE 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION NOTE: Entries in italics describe … Memoirs of the 10th Mountain Division in WWII. By 9 p.m. of the 20th, they were dug in on a forested ridge short of the summit. Cold… 3 of us left in my squad. Dan L. Kennerly, a 22-year-old private serving in the 85th’s D Company, recorded Hays’s words in his diary. The U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division served in World War II combat for only four months, but it had one of the highest casualty rates. The regiment walked uphill in two long single files. After backbreaking training, the legendary alpine fighting force was sent to dislodge the entrenched Germans on Italy's mountaintops. (The Denver Public Library, TMD-252). And so my 20th birthday rolled around & I feel 30. Please, not now.”, A vengeful Evans jumped to his feet and, heedless of danger, raced uphill toward the German machine guns, calling for men to follow him. Riva Ridge is named after the ridge in Italian Apennines where the 10th Mountain Division won a decisive World War II battle against German forces. Staff Sergeant Marlin Wineberg was a mortar squad leader in D Company—the heavy weapons company—of the 85th. But to take the ridge, his men would need to scale those cliffs. It was February 16, 1945. German counterattacks that began later in the day and continued for five days proved more costly but ultimately futile. The strangest organization attached to the 10th Mountain was the Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop. Army reports, orders, rosters, memos, charts, operations journals and unit histories constitute the bulk of the material. “For the next ten minutes, I just kept moving,” Evans recalled, “throwing grenades and firing my machine pistol. The Germans on the Belvedere massif could also hear the firing going on to their west and must have understood that their positions were likely to be the next American target. The 10th was the only US mountain division to be raised in World War II, and still has a high profile, being involved in operations from Iraq to Somalia and from Haiti to Afghanistan. Constituted: 10.07.1943 (as the 10th Light Division) Activated: 15.07.1943: Redesignated: 06.11.1944 (as the 10th Mountain Division: Inactivated: 30.11.1945 The collection at Denver Public Library includes: Use the Name Lookup Index to determine if a person was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, and the company or Regiment with which he served. In the end, the 10th had gained a reputation as one of the toughest and most competent groups of soldiers to fight in World War II. Robert Black fought with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy. By sunset on February 19, they were cheered by the news that the ridge had been captured. Free shipping. From the ridgeline, the Germans had a clear view of the approaches to and summit of Mount Belvedere, which would allow them to call in accurate artillery fire on any attackers. Drawing largely from letters written by soldiers to their families and friends back home, Isserman provides frontline views not only of such famous battles as Riva … The National Ski Patrol actively recruited skiers to join the newly formed unit. The 10th’s plan of attack was complex and multipronged, with elements from the 85th, 86th, and 87th regiments involved in the initial assault from several sides of Belvedere and Gorgolesco. For an excellent chronology of the 10th Mountain Division's creation, battles, and current history see the website of the 10th Mountain Division Association, Inc. at www.10thmtndivassoc.org.. The last German who got up and yelled ‘, Dug in on crest of ridge with [Turman] Oldman. It meant there would be no German artillery observers along the ridge to call in shells on them as they advanced toward their objectives that night and in the days to come. 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