Evening star., 1943-12-26
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
Star Staff Correspondent.


FIFTH ARMY FRONT IN ITALY,
Dec. 81 (DelayeO.-At least 10
times in a month American troops
took Hill 470 in a dark or rainy
night. Each time they were over
whelmed in the morning with ma
chine guns and rifles barking all
around them from pillboxes and fox
holes which had seemed deserted
when they climbed past them up
the shell blackened slopes.
Sunrise seemed to change rocks
and thornbushes into German SOL
diers. American losses were heavy.
Many were killed In the long series
Of attacks. At one time an entire
platoon was taken prisoner. 1t was
only after an infantry battalion
had taken a position following a
hard two-day battle that the mys-
terry of the hill with 10 lives was
solved.
Past the foot Of Hill 470, which
was one of the key positions in the
divisional push westward from Ven-
afro, ran a deep wooded stream bed
down which the enemy could bring
reinforcements with perfect con-
cealment. Near the bottom OF the
hill were three cave entrances. The
exits Of one of these caverns was on
the summit. The two others were
about midway up the slopes, one on
the south and one on the west.
These constituted an almost perfect
defensive system. All the American
attacks were against the northwest
side.
German Forces Light.
The Germans were holding the
position with relatively light forces,
probably not much more than an in
fantry company ever was there at
any one time. The American at
tack made with one or two platoons
followed terrific artillery lombard
ments which left the hillsides a
Dantesque picture Of blackened des-
olation so that, as one Of the divis-
ion officers said, ut looks like
perfect moving picture battlefield"
The whole hill would cover little
more than city block. 1t was hard
to believe that human beings could
live under such intensive shelling.
When the American attacks were
made In the dark they usually met
little resistance, sometimes none at
all. The troops would occupy the
crest of the hill and radio back to
regimental headquarters that the
position was definitely taken at last,
all the defenders who remained had
either been killed or captured. The
pillboxes and the fox holes were
empty.
All the time the Germans were
bringing new forces down the
stream bed and through the caves
to strategic positions from which
they could NOW down the trapped
Americans in the morning. The
situation finally became intolerable
and when division, held up nearly
q month by bad weather and i'm
passable roads, started the westward
push in the third week of Decem-
Der which was definitely to break
through the German winter line in
this sector, the hill had to be taken
at any cost. The game of hide and
seek was over and the enemy had
to make a stand once and for all.
Their natural defensive positions
were so excellent that they were able
to hold of for two days the attack
which was punctuated with much
hand-to-hand fighting by the in
fantry battalion led by 1t. Col.
Preston c. Murphy of Fort Collins,
Colo.
Picture of DesOlation.
Now the slopes Of Hill 47O present
an appearance about as close to that
Of the no mans land of the last
war as could be found in Italy. One
cannot take five steps anywhere
without stepping into a shell hole
Two days later the pungent odor of
phosphorus used to make smoke