THE BIG PICTURE - 1943 ASSAULT ON SALERNO, ITALY BY ALLIED FORCES OPERATION AVALANCHE

[Music] picture an official report of the United States Army produced for the armed forces and the American people [Music] that was a battle of the arone forest and only just beginning been that way for three whole days in three nights cut off from the Battalion with no food no water no ammo no nothing then that last barrage lifted and I started crawling around looking for the rest of the patrol you know what there wasn't any what was left of them if there had been any had all been pulled back I was all alone I look around and that place was just a popping with Germans all of a sudden it seemed like the whole of the Kaiser's Army Army was out just to get me and all of them yelling for me to surrender and I started looking for a clip oh GE rushi there wasn't any I got so sore I forgot to be scared and I uh grabbed her hand grenade I pull the clip all back and let her go you know what every darn one of them come running out with their hands up over their head yelling com CAD must have been a whole regiment a battalion couple of hundred anyway well that was World War I the battle of the Argon Paul recalls it perhaps he is stretch the truth a little bit after all refighting the old battles has been one of man's favorite conversational topics since the Stone Age we must remember that it is a highly competitive Pastime and now let me interrupt just long enough to introduce myself I'm Sergeant Stuart Queen bringing you another in our series the big picture today you will see the Battle of salaro a glowing chapter from our military history another reason too for that Pride which makes the old battles a treasured source of memories among all men who have served the nation but now let's return to Grandpa and his captive audience a tight Corner eh I say what did I do I'll tell you what I did I picked up that empty rifle of mine just as if she was loaded and I started Hing them prisoners into a single fire maybe you think I wasn't scared come on you I yell come on you get him up keep moving yeah come on yeah come on come on yeah I mean you hold up you oh no oh no pop you're not at it again hi right Tommy on the level now how many Germans was it this time go on go ahead poke fun all the same that was a man's War under your cream puff fighting with fancy machines to do the job Cold Steel and bullets that's what we used I was in a war you were in a war well now isn't that something where do you suppose I was at a Taffy pole have you ever heard of solero Sno and we had to clean up North Africa before we ever got to Solo solo well go ahead and laugh maybe I'd be laughing too if I hadn't been there solo I bet most of us have never even heard the name we we would brother we would we know all about solo just as soon as the Navy got us there we sail from berseri and Tripoli Sicily and Iran big family party General Clark's Fifth Army and general Montgomery's British e8th [Music] Army part of the eth that already crossed from Sicily to the toe of the Italian boat we figured to Lop off the foot a lot of us did that figur in too easy scuttlebutt had Hitler tied down in the East and Italy written off Intelligence Officers briefings didn't and all of a sudden there was no more Scuttle butt we were back in the war [Music] [Music] now it was going to be our [Music] show some facts and figures you don't forget ever this was September 9th 1943 the hour call it h hour [Music] here was Salo and what a no welcome committee [Music] the worst pour down from those mountains beyond the beaches [Music] [Music] we held on to the beaches and punched on into the narrow cinal plane behind them that was dday and the night did [Music] follow our goal was Naples but those mountains stood between from them enemy observation spot every try we made for the [Music] Foothills then he'd send armor tearing down [Music] we were doing some tearing too and units were breaking through remember the kids game King of the mountain well that's what this was but for Keeps [Music] down below we had a pal a Navy was Landing Haymakers up into those [Music] Hills the enemy began to move in the troops that Monty's 8 had chased out of Sicily but we were doing a little moving in ourselves and every hour we were getting more of the things we needed to keep the show on the road senu of War that's what speech makers call it the same as muscle and in our slugging match we sure could use plenty of it [Music] we were a going business but setting up shop calls for real [Music] precautions maybe the tenants who moved out don't like it these didn't so we were Mighty careful when we tidied up anyone who wasn't careful was likely to be sorry for it if he was lucky just to keep from going soft the engineers were taking time out from work to fight and from fighting to work the stuff that began to move over their roads made them the prettiest site this side of US1 back of the beaches a lot of equipment had to be written off the Germans weren't letting anybody forget that they had fire up in their [Music] hilltops those same Gunners were having themselves a high old time holding down our use of the airst strips we had two of them one in the town called mon Gino had been captured by the British our Engineers built the other until we knocked off those guns real air support had to come from Sicily or navy carriers [Music] but worse those guns were costing us men an ancient Greek Temple had become a clearing station and those nurses some of them on the beaches before the end of D-Day work ground the clock treating and helping to evacuate the wounded we stopped thinking about Naples only roads and hills with numbers and towns that had names hard to pronounce bapala was one of the toughest toughest to take too but we had to because it was a railroad Junction and straddled the two best highways in the area [Music] no matter what the reasons were that made a town important to us the same reasons made it important to the enemy and so those towns kept changing managements we'd go in get pushed out and then have to go in all over again and of course worst were the ones up in the Foothills up in the mountains with units circling backward and forward you never know who you'd meet up with sometimes it might be friends a patrol could be a few yards away from an enemy Hilltop as the crow flies not being a crow still be miles [Music] away those were the miles that had to be bought and the price was high [Music] it was going to go higher for now the Nazis were readying an allout Counterattack from the north he rushed his best divisions season Grenadier pancers veteran Herman Garing division need smash us hurl us back into the sea we had eyes that could look down and see him building that Powerhouse Drive and we kept him off balance wherever we [Music] could the Nazi kept on plowing up our two air strips tried to pull down our carrier based air power wherever it was flown [Music] in then he uncor that Sunday [Music] punch he threw in everything and everything still included guns hammering down on us from above [Music] but we had Hardware of Our Own [Music] we've blocked that Sunday punch and let go a few of Our Own [Music] we'd Blast away at those mountains then go in and take over but it never got monotonous [Music] the enemy's punch began losing its steam but he was in there slugging and every foot of ground was costing us Manpower the town's on the salaro plane and in the Foothills were still being taken and retaken by now some of them didn't even look like towns [Music] anymore we were learning a lot about the enemy we'd move into a town to find he'd left units behind to whittle us down and paved the way for his next try to take it back [Music] again any shell out ruin might conceal a machine gunner or a sniper a pile of rubble made neat cover for a Nazi handy with a [Music] grenade but by now we knew the Counterattack had failed Hitler had lost his chance to SW keep us out of Italy there was a message saying just that to every officer and enlisted man in our fifth [Music] Army one little phrase hit it right on the head we are here to stay said Lieutenant General Mark W Clark cre puff war huh a don't get me wrong of course it was rough all wars are but Shu you was talking about one measly little week now you take the ARG one week he calls it one measly little week my man this fight was only just beginning those Nazis weren't Calling it Quits not yet they weren't don't forget this was still Hitler's Fortress Europe [Music] the enemy could still hit hard [Applause] [Music] call them delaying tactics they still spell out [Music] fight we began to see the last of the mountains and started thinking again about Naples [Music] there was relief now for men in forward areas as reserves became [Music] available relief wouldn't be enough if you'd been stopped by those delaying tactics out of those tactics we were getting us bigger batches of guests most of them real polite by now but it was still war one town a Kel took one 100 rounds from our navy guns before we could move in other towns out of big gun range had to be Pride open like [Music] [Music] oysters mop up one town then on to the next where the fighting had moved on civilians would reappear they'd even welcome [Music] us it meant they understood that this was the price they had to pay if their towns had any value to the enemy they had tossed old Bonito out of his job and were ready to take punishment if that was the only way to get rid of his [Music] buddies melini's buddies were now returning that feeling demolitions mines time bombs could only delay us but they could create horror and hardship for the civilian population and Nazi had turned vengeful civilian made his fair Target a [Music] soldier here again was and other towns we'd fought for now they were ours for good we pushed on toward [Music] Nabors more and more people were welcoming us along the way no longer afraid of the Nazis return a pretty good [Music] sign there were other signs too the enemy was destroying his equipment but still saing us with beat up roads and beat up bridges come to think about it we were pretty beat up too by now relief units became a welcome sight wrecked towns no longer meant Warfare it had become enemy spite as he fled North we'd have to move fast if anything was to be saved in Naples rebuilding roads became routine and we pushed on toward that port and those airfields we [Music] wanted outfits that could stop along the way found they'd been winning a popularity contest along with a battle it's a funny thing about soldiers anyway our soldiers kids always go for him in a big way and we do a bit of melting down ourselves you got to wondering what was like to be a youngster in the middle of a war Wonder Too what kind of Miracle it would take to make some of them laugh be kids again you know pup sometimes when I look at Tommy I I think back on those towns we fought through and and all those poor kids RP on kids women folks too War always is time too and I get to thinking that if we hadn't fought through scraps like that maybe one day he'd know the same kind of Life those kids knew well now you got a point I used to get the same notion watching you when you was growing up well we did our best to bring those kids their [Music] Miracle then our military government people came in to distribute needed relief and reorganize paralyzed communities there was nothing left for our armies now but to move into Naples and maybe Naples wasn't [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] waiting here again it was the old Story Only worse the time bomb and the mine here to methodical destruction but we expected that and had a few readymade tricks to counter it our great prize the port of Naples had been wrecked but this too we had expected within weeks some installations would be back in use the retreating enemy had missed no bets the main Aqueduct had been cut an emergency Waters Supply had to be improvised not a single utility had been left functioning but they would be restored we took care of [Music] that we had gained our Victory and all Italy south of the voltero was ours neither our leaders nor any of us would forget those others the ones who' helped us crash the European continent American fighting men who brought honor to themselves the armed forces and our country [Music] yes old Soldiers of all ages will continue to refight the old battles call it pride in s in the outfit in our military Traditions no matter which it serves us all in those offre repeated stories there is inspiration to acts of courage and sacrifice when newer challenges to our heritage must be met now this is Sergeant Stuart Queen your host for the big picture the big picture is an official report for the armed forces and the American people produced by the Army victorial Center presented by the department of Army in cooperation with this station