The Battle of Piedimonte
May 20-25, 1944
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The Battle of Piedimonte May 20-25, 1944 |
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In May 1944, immediately after the Polish victory in Cassino, the British XIII Army was attempting to break through the Hitler Line when they encountered flank fire from Piedimonte, a small town built of stone, which the German Army converted into a fortress. Although still exhausted from the battle in Cassino, the II Polish Corps attacked this position led mainly by the 6th Armored Regiment, the 18th Lwow Rifle Battalion, the 5th Carpathian Rifle Battalion, the 12th Lancers, and the 9th Artillery Regiment. Four consecutive attacks led mainly by tanks were relentless and their tenacity took the Germans by surprise. Piedimonte was taken on May 25, 1944. The fighting in Piedimonte prevented the Germans from defending road No. 6 thus allowing the British XIII Army to progress up the valley without intereference. Road No. 6 was to become a road that was to become the main line of communications. The casualties were 860 dead, 2882 wounded and 102 missing. Meanwhile, the Carpathian Lancers and the 15th Poznan Lancers sent out to capture two peaks that dominated the landscape: Passo Corno and Monte Cairo. The mission was a difficult one as the terrain was rocky and the soldiers advanced under fire and observation. Both peaks were taken by May 25th.
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Copyright (c) 2002 by Robert Ambros. All rights reserved. Photograph courtesy of the Wielopolski Military Museum in Poznan and the Friends of the 15th Poznanskich Lancers Regiment.
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