PROGRESS BY YARDS THE Geman retreat was bitter and deliberate. They used every trick in the book to delay our advance as they pulled back. The 3rd, 34th, and 45th divisions forced the first crossing of the Volturno river on the night of 12/13 October. The weather was cold and rainy, the water chest deep and the current swift. Mountain by mountain in rain and mud, grim battles were fougt at Mignano, Venafro, Mt. Camino, Mt. Sammucro, San Pietro, Sen Vittore, Mt. Porchia, and Cervaro. Progress was made, but it was measured in yards. Casualties were heavy on both sides. Finally, on 15 January 1944, men of the 34th division took Mt. Trocchio. Below, across the flat Rapido valley, lay the gray, undamaged buildings of a town called Cassino.

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