Mountain Trooper
Marksman
In the official report of the 10th Mountain's famous capture of Riva Ridge in Italy, it states the following....
Do you have any reference photos of what these troops would be wearing? This was February 1945. Would they have the edelweiss patch etc? I will be travelling to Riva Ridge and Italy in May retracing the 10th Mountain battle route. I'm doing bashes of troops in each major battle location. I will be taking the uniforms to weather in the actual soil of each of these locations. Thought it might be nice to do a Riva Ridge defender while I'm at it.
Glad to see your section here Patrick !
From prisoner interrogation the following was learned: The 7th Company of the 1044th Regiment of the 232nd Fusiliers held the ridge. This company was to be relieved by two companies of the 4th Mt. Battalion on the 19th of February. A 3rd Company of this Mt. Battalion was in Sestola. This probably was the 75 men that the P-47s strafed on the road to Fanano. The 7th Company lost heavily in the fighting on the 19th-20th February. F Company, 86th Mountain Infantry, had annihilated a column of 30 Krauts with machine guns, so it can be assumed that the 4th Mt. Battalion ceased to exist as a fighting organization. At no time did they expect an attack on the ridge, and it came as a complete surprise as they felt it too rugged an obstacle for a very large unit to take.
Do you have any reference photos of what these troops would be wearing? This was February 1945. Would they have the edelweiss patch etc? I will be travelling to Riva Ridge and Italy in May retracing the 10th Mountain battle route. I'm doing bashes of troops in each major battle location. I will be taking the uniforms to weather in the actual soil of each of these locations. Thought it might be nice to do a Riva Ridge defender while I'm at it.
Glad to see your section here Patrick !