Editing First Special Service Force (section)

===Monte la Difensa, 1943===
The FSSF was tasked with taking two heavily fortified German positions on the Camino ridge in the Italian mountains: [[Battle of Monte la Difensa|Monte La Difensa]], overlooking the Volturno River, and Monte La Remetanea, 1,200 yards to the west. These positions were held by the [[15th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)|104th Panzer Grenadier Regiment]] (an infantry formation) with the [[1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring]] (an armored division) in reserve.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=16}}</ref> The German positions on La Difensa and La Remetanea were the last entrenched line before the [[Winter Line|Gustav Line]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McGeer|first=Eric|title=The Canadian Battlfields in Italy" Ortona & the Liri Valley|year=2007|publisher=Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies|location=Waterloo|isbn=978-0-9783441-0-8|page=63}}</ref> An Allied push through the mountains would advance closer to Rome.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nadler|first=John|title=A Perfect Hell|year=2005|publisher=Anchor Canada|location=Canada|page=16}}</ref> Strategically, the mountains provided a commanding view of the countryside and highway, giving German artillery on the mountain control of the surrounding area. The German artillery atop La Difensa were also using a new weapon - the [[Nebelwerfer]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Peppard|first=Herb|title=The Lighthearted Soldier|year=1994|publisher=Nimbus Publishing|location=Halifax|pages=82–87}}</ref> Previous large scale Allied attacks on the mountain had met the enemy head on and been repelled with disastrous casualties. The paths leading up La Difensa were heavily scouted by the FSSF before their attack. The scouts reported to Lt. Col. T. C. MacWilliam (who would lead the 2nd Regiment's assault on La Remetanea) that the best way to approach the entrenched enemy was up an almost vertical escarpment over the right of the hill mass.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=17}}</ref> By this approach, the FSSF hoped to catch the Germans off guard.

The assault was planned for 2 December. The men were trained in mountain climbing and fighting tactics at their temporary barracks at Santa Maria. The plan was as follows (all battalions were in the 2nd Regiment): At 16:30 hours on 1 December, 2nd Regiment would be trucked to within {{convert|6|mi}} of the base of La Difensa and march the rest of the way (6-hour march). 1st Regiment, coupled with US 36th Infantry Division would be the reserve units for the 2nd Regiment. 3rd Regiment would be split in two, half to support the 2nd Regiment following the initial assault, and half to be reserves with the 1st Regiment and 36th Infantry Division. All identification on FSSF soldiers was to be removed except their dog tags.

After reaching the base of the mountain and having had a single night's rest, 2nd Regiment (600 men total) began their ascent of La Difensa on 2 December at dusk under cover of a heavy artillery barrage. One soldier recalls the severity of the shelling: "It looked as if we were marching into Hell. The whole mountain was being shelled and the whole mountain seemed to be on fire."<ref name="autogenerated18">{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=18}}</ref>

The soldiers of the 2nd Regiment came within range of the German positions at midnight and began to climb the final cliff, which jutted steeply upwards for {{convert|1000|ft}}.<ref name="autogenerated18"/> The men climbed with ropes tied to one another in the freezing rain. Upon reaching the top, MacWilliam signaled his men to move forward into a depression in front of the German entrenchment. Initially, the soldiers were given the order to hold their fire until 6 AM, but the Germans noticed the Allied movent after some FSSF men tripped over loose gravel while moving along the mountaintop. Germans shot flares into the air and the battle began. Through gun and mortar fire, the men of the 2nd Regiment managed to set up machine guns and return fire, surprising and overwhelming the Germans. The 5th Army Staff had guessed that the battle would last between 4–5 days, but within two hours, the Germans on La Difensa had retreated to La Remetanea.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=19}}</ref>

When informed by General Eisenhower that the FSSF had taken Monte la Difensa, Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] exclaimed that Frederick was "the greatest fighting general of all time".<ref name="warfarehistorynetwork.com"> {{cite web |author=Michael D. Hull|title=What the Devil's Brigade Did in World War II |publisher=Warfare History Network |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/what-the-devils-brigade-did-in-world-war-ii |date=August 2019 }} </ref>

Previously, American and British forces had suffered many casualties in futile attempts to take the important Camino ridge. The 1st SSF took their initial objective of La Difensa, but the attack on Monte La Remetanea (Hill 907) was halted after the death of 1st Battalion CO Lt. Col. T. C. MacWilliam. While Frederick wanted the attack to continue, he ordered a halt in the advance on 907 to wait for reinforcements and supplies. The FSSF dug in at Difensa, anticipating a German counterattack.

However, massive Allied artillery barrages and the flooding of both the Rapido and Garigliano rivers prevented the Germans from reforming. While waiting for the orders to attack Remetanea, the 2nd Regiment were resupplied by the 1st and 3rd Regiments, who brought them whiskey and condoms (to keep the barrels of their guns dry in the rain). Once the British forces broke through the German lines at Monte Camino, the FSSF was ordered to attack their primary objective (Hill 907).<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|pages=20–21}}</ref> 

The successful assault on Difensa was the basis for the 1968 motion picture titled ''[[The Devil's Brigade (film)|The Devil's Brigade]]''.

During the Monte la Difensa campaign the 1st SSF units engaged suffered 77% casualties: 511 total, 91 dead, 9 missing, 313 wounded with 116 exhaustion cases. They were relieved by the 142nd Infantry.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=21}}</ref>