All language subtitles for [English] Battle of San Pietro (1945) Full Movie Mark W. Clark

[music playing]

in the Italian midland,alley

some 60 miles northwest
of Naples, some 40 miles

southeast of Rome, a wide,

walls of mountains.

In winter, the higher
peaks of the Liri range

are abandoned to the

But the valley flow,

its crops of wheat an

That is, in nor.

Last year was a bad year
for grapes and olives

And the fall planting

Many fields lay fallow.

There are two ways fr

a narrow pass, the ot

They converge before

Pietro, which for
700 years has stood

at the threshold of LiriVa

The stones of its
walls were quarried out

whose slopes it rises,

Population, 1,412 at

Patron Saint Peter,
point of interest,

Saint Peter, 1438, notethe

of castles.

As Saint Peter's wac

there, so each ori

were to live there.

And this practice has

The Italian peasant is abo

and mortars in the
stone with great skil

and patience, building,
not for himself alone

but for future genera

From the end of October1

San Pietro and the
surrounding ground

was the scene of some of
the bitterest fightin

on our Fifth Army front.

[explosions]

The Italian campaign had
entered a second phase,

but pushed forward againaf

on by heavy seasonal

Our battle lines were
as the terrain itself

with its flood-swolle

across our line of ma

like five.

And where there was
no river to cross,

a mountain blocked ou

Each peak ahead being

new peak had to foughn, soh

for the hard, uphill
way, with the enemy

looking down our thro

They had had time to

No amount of artiller

could force them to w

That was for the infa

can find and desty

and fighting holes.

It was up to the man

from all weapons, the

and sea, serve only t

It was up to the foot

over ground that
was sown with mines,

the antipersonnel S-m

to explode into t

Nowhere along thn

elaborate than in
the San Pietro area,

for San Pietro stands at

And through Liri
Valley, wide and level,

runs the most highly

By early December, we

to the northeast,
east, and south

of San Pietro, theCam

being last to fall.

Italian troops,
under Allied command,

had made a vain attempto

would have acted
greatly to our benefi

in the impending action.

But so excessive were

that further operationsaga

were deemed unwarranted.

[music playing]

It was thereon
determined to make

a direct frontal assault
on enemy positions

around and within San Pt

[explosions]

Battalions of the 36t
Texas Infantry Division

were rotated from pos

so that troops might
study the terrain

ahead from various viewi

[music playing]

Patrolling activity
was continuous.

Day and night, units

drawn fire, take
prisoners, thus addin

to the sum of ourinfo

High point, Mount
Lungo, 351, and Mount

Sammuncro, 1205 and 950,we

The town itself was
strongly garrisoned,

with numerous mortar,
and machine gun,

and heavy weapon empl

Four enemy battalior

pillboxes in depth, thattual

Mount Lungo, northeast,s

across the valley flo

Another battalion was oa

northwest of San Pietro.

Areas before these
positions were

heavily mined and
held a confusion

of barbed wire and boobt

On the afternoon befo

to battalion commanders.

December 8th, at 0620 hour

Regiment to attack
the summit of 1205,

under cover darkness.e moui

And upon achieving
its objective,

to attack along the r

likewise to attack 950,

The 3rd Ranger Baa

another feature of the

The 2nd Battalion of
the 143rd to attack

northeast of San Pietro.

The 3rd Battalion,
acting in support,

to follow the 2nd at

Of the original force to
establish the beachhead

in Salerno, the 143rd
had since spent all but

a fortnight in action
under extremely

bitter weather condit

At Salerno, at the
Volturno Crossing,

it had the taken
mortal punishment.

The task ahead promised
no less bloodshed,

yet it was undertaken ig

The 1st Battalion began
the long rugged climb

up Mount Sammuncro.

[music playing]

[explosions]

As night fell, our
artillery opened up.

And throughout the night
hours, intense fire

main line of resistance. eny

[machine gun fire, ex

It had rained most of

And it was raining at

crossed the line of dept

[explosions]

Some 200 yards forwt

automatic fire f

[rifle, machi

Mortar and artillery
were deadly accurate

by reason of excellent e

overlooking our advan

yards.

[explosions]

Many men gave theirs

reach pillboxes,d

openings.

The 3rd Battalion was

[explosions, machin

But the advance nee

of departure.

Our initial assault
on San Pietro

had been repulsed,
with heavy casualties

[music playing]

The attack on Hill
1205, however,

was a brilliant success.

Leading elements of
the 1st Battalion

had gained the summit
of the objective

before a strongly ent

in progress.

[music playing]

To the right of 1205,
the 3rd Ranger Battalion

had also captured its obje

attacks and costly casut

was not taken unaware, the

Counterattacks were to e

They were not long
in developing.

[explosions]

The first was launche

off, another took form.s itb

[machine gun fire]

in remitting violenceey f

[mortar fire]

The total of enemy deadmou

The German prisoners
captured on 1205 and 950

said that they had
been ordered to retak

those positions at al

[artillery fire]

Acting in excellent coor

disrupted numerous enemyco

the process of being

[explosions]

In addition to
defending Hill 1205,

to the field order,, obedt

undertook the reduction
of enemy defenses

the ridge running west.zed a

[HAND GRENADE EXPLOSIO

MACHINE GUN FIRE]

On the 12th of December,
the 1st Battalion

was reinforced by the

took over and maia

thereby enabling the
1st Battalion to thro

its entire remainings

along the ridge.

But the 1st's strengt
had dwindled and shrunk

in the five days past

And there was now a q

were sufficient to pr

Reports during the night
of the 14th of December

stated that the enemy

and that the issue
was in grave doubt.

Meanwhile, in the
olive terraces below,

the 2nd and 3rd Battalis

to reach their obc

[explosion]

Both times they had
come up against a wal

of automatic weapons,

[explosions]

Volunteer patrols mad
desperate attempts

to reach enemy positionsan

Not a single member o

[explosion]

Our attacking forces
were furnished

Allied fighter patrols.l coy

But now and then enem

and to bomb and
strafe our positions,

which to all
purposes had remained

unchanged since the f

To break the
deadlock, orders were

given for a coordinateddivi

and 3rd Battalions of

of the original orders.

Acting in conjunction,

to attack San Pietro f

One battalion of
the 141st to attack

over the flat valley fl.

After nightfall onD-Da

Regiment to attack the
heights of Mount Lungo.

In preparation for th

within range, including
tanks and all-tracks,

were directed against SP

[music playing]

Fire!

[artillery, tank,o

NARRATOR: H-Hour2

the 141st Ina

down and held powerlessdepae

under the weight of enemy

The 2nd and 3rd
Battalions of the 143rd

advanced some 100 yardsbey

to a point almost direcy

And for the third tim

the quaking earth o

And the tanks, r

and to loe
the heavy weapons there,

which were leveled ag

The high road into Sa

And from the beginnin
of its winding descen

into Liri Valley, it

[music playing]

16 tanks started down tt

Three reached the
outskirts of the town

[explosion]

and one was missing.were o

Five tanks were immobile

having to abandon them.

Five tanks hit mines
within our lines,

were thereupon destroyed
by enemy gunfire.

Four tanks returned
to bivouac area.

After dark, two compa

and one from thed

positions befn

But receiving bothfro

they were forced to
retire, Company E,

having been reduced i

and Company L faring
little better.

[music playing]

On the Sammuncro Ridge,
the 1st Battalion

fought its way to withia

[music playing]

[explosions]

But it had paid
for ground gained

at the rate of a man

And it did not have
strength to carry

the fight any further fw

On Mount Lungo, however,de

battalions of 142nd,
in successive waves,

kept pushing upwards.

[explosions, machine

Until in the early daylh

its foot soldiers
had gained the summit

and were wiping up whatrem

And that height prove
to be a key position

in the enemy plan of

For even as Mount
Lungo fell, the enemy

throughout the San Pi

Almost invariably, th
enemy will counterattack

to cover a withdrawal

The first violent thr

[explosions]

came in waves, the roarcount

of the last mingling

to break.

Many companies lost
all their officers.

as inspirational leadersor

to rally their batteredcom

one more onslaught.

[mortar fire]

Our own artillery was

of our front-line l

[artillery explosions

After five hours, duringwh

to tremble,
counterattacks ended,

of the enemy's main bodyrawl

had commenced.

[music playing]

[explosions, gunfire]

In an effort to
maintain contact,

our patrols immediately
pushed ahead.

[music playing]

Entering the town, they
discovered that San

Pietro was ours for t

The 2nd and 3rd Battalis

in strength, wearied to
death who were alive,

stumbled forward,
past San Pietro,

to consolidate gains
and reestablish contact

with the enemy, now
taking up new positions

some five kilometers

That is the broad
shape of the battle

of San Pietro, which wab

in Liri Valley.

It was a very costly

Infantry Regiment alonee, t3

required 1,100 replac

lives, to their country,preo

to their loved ones, and
to the men themselves

For the living of the
143rd Infantry Regiment,

for acts of valororat

above and beyond
the call of duty.

Many among these you see
alive here have since

joined the ranks of
their brothers-in-arm

who fell at San Pietro.

For ahead lay San Vit

And beyond Cassino,
more rivers and more

mountains and more to

a thousand more.

As the battle passed

townspeople began o

in the mountains, wherethe

during the enemy occu

[music, choir singing

They were mostly old
people and children.

Living was resumed
in San Pietro.

Children are able to
forget such things.

Yesterday, they wept.

Today, there are smiles
and even laughter.

Tomorrows will be as

[choir singing]

Our prime military ai

the capture of the townits

of its people was of
an incidental nature.

But the people, in their
military innocence,

look upon us solely
as their deliverers.

It was to free them andthe

Behind our lines,
southwest to the sea,

growing crops planteden wih

people of other townsy othr

who believe likewise.

[music playing]

The new-won earth at SanPi

It should yield a goo
harvest this year.

And the people prayed
to their patron saint

to intercede with God
in behalf of those wh

came and delivered themand

with the passing battle.

[music, choir singing