by Christian Beckwith | Mar 23, 2024 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack Episodes
COMING SOON: Across the Po Valley and into the tunnels of Lake Garda, the 10th rolled to victory, ending Germany’s occupation of Italy and hastening the conclusion of the war in the process. This episode looks at the final, bitter fights of the Spring Offensive, as...
by Christian Beckwith | Mar 23, 2024 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack Episodes
COMING SOON: In taking Riva Ridge and the Belvedere massif, the mountain troops broke the German will to fight. This episode examines the opening salvos of the Spring Offensive, when the 10th fought out of the mountains and across the Po River in an advance so furious...
by Christian Beckwith | Mar 23, 2024 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack Episodes
COMING SOON: “Four times Belvedere had been taken,” wrote Lieutenant David Brower, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 86th Mountain Infantry, “and four times strong German counterattacks had forced the Allies back.” This episode looks at the battle that broke...
by Christian Beckwith | Mar 23, 2024 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack Episodes
COMING SOON: Key to breaking the Gothic Line was Riva Ridge—the icy eastern flanks of which were so steep the Germans hardly defended them. Welcome to the most famous chapter in the history of the 10th Mountain Division, when more than 700 mountain troops climbed the...
by Christian Beckwith | Mar 23, 2024 | Ninety-Pound Rucksack Episodes
COMING SOON: When the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division arrived in Italy, they were mountain hardened, but not battle-tested. This episode looks at the first few weeks in the Italian theater, when their encounters with the enemy took the green off the mountain...
