![]() ![]() What they could not see but knew was there was an alert German battalion on the summit, just waiting for the Allies to make another foolhardy attempt on the neighboring mountain, Monte Belvedere. They could see places on the ridge that looked fairly easy to navigate, and other parts of the trail that offered more of a challenge-places where snow and ice clung to shadowy crevasses, places where small waterfalls cascaded over rock, places where the shale looked loose and easily broken. The map named this series of connected peaks Monte Della Riva. The soldiers studied the rock face for a very long time, speaking quietly as they scanned the shale with binoculars and jotting notes onto a map of the area. Germans Await Allies At Ridge Summit Of Treacherous Ridge ![]() The ridge was nearly denuded most of the vegetation on its steep slopes had already been chopped down for firewood by the starving Italian people in the villages scattered along the banks of the Dardagna River-a rocky, swiftly moving stream at the base of the cliff. It was early in 1945 when the Battle of Po Valley officially began: from their hiding places in the valley below, the soldiers looked up at the wall of shale looming more than 3,000 feet above them. ![]()
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