WW2 GHOST TOWN The Battle for San Pietro, Italy, December 1943
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- čas přidán 11. 04. 2024
- WW2 GHOST TOWN The Battle for San Pietro, Italy, December 1943
The village of San Pietro Infine, near Mignano in Italy is now a ghost town. Ravaged by the bitter fighting for the Winter Line in December 1943, the town is now in ruins, much like that of Oradour-sur-Glane in France.
But unlike Oradour-sur-Glane, San Pietro was as a result of fighting between the 36th Division and the German defenders, attempting to stop the Allied advance towards Monte Cassino and ultimately Rome.
Now, the remains of the village act as a silent witness to the bitter fighting there 80 years ago. In this episode I explore the ruins of San Pietro, and using clips from the John Huston film, Battle of San Pietro filmed in the ruins days after the real battle I tell the story of how the village became a WW2 Ghost Town.
#ww2 #thenandnow #ghosttown #italy #montecassino
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Brilliant presentation as ever. Very timely as I’m currently reading James Holland’s book Italy’s Sorrow. Whilst it deals with the period 1944-45 it does detail the extremely hard fighting that took place and the devastation of many Italian villages. It’s a part of WWII that I believe gets overlooked
Thanks!
The fighting in Italy really was on another level compared to say Normandy, which was brutal in its own right but Italian villages were almost wiped off the map, something I still struggle to comprehend to this day!
I’ll have to see about getting a copy of Mr Holland’s latest work!
Thanks again for watching!
The book was originally published in 2008 but should still be available
In 1987 I showed Juston's documentary to a group of San Pietro residents who were seeing it for the first time. There were many people crying near me.
My uncle (British) fought in Italy for over a year and said he hated it more than anywhere else he fought. Not the fighting so much as the apparent futility of it because the going was so slow. He said that a lot of soldiers refused to continue fighting and some even deserted, not because they were cowards - far from it - but they were worn down by the attrition, the despair they saw even after winning a battle and the extremely slow progress which, he thought, just served to exacerbate the despair.
Thank you for sharing that about your Uncle and I can well imagine just how low morale got having now seen the terrain and the sheer ineptitude of Mark Clark making blunder after blunder.
Thanks to your Uncle for his Service 🙏🇬🇧 from your Commonwealth Brothers 🇨🇦
@@WW2Wayfinder I noticed you mentioned that about Mark Clark. Alot of people do. People say he got a lot of People killed. I don't know myself. I did hear a story though when My Grandfather's unit made the attack on Monte La Difensa they lost a lot of Men. Apparently He got assigned the Grisly task of Body Recovery so I've heard from Family members.
La guerra in Italia poteva finire durante i primi mesi del 1944. Fu deciso di tenere aperto il fronte italiano per impegnare e tenere in Italia più tedeschi possibile. Prova ne è anche il fatto che il generale Dolmann, capo delle truppe tedesche in Italia, trattò con gli anglo americani la ritirata delle truppe tedesche in Italia fin dal gennaio 1945. A riguardo c'è una intervista del giornalista Sergio Zavoli con Dolmann nel 1965 archivio RAI.
Well done, thank you. My father served with the US Army in Italy, 1943-44 and then went to France and Germany. He was a veterinarian with a mule outfit.
I feel like I just took an advanced history course! The old footage showing battle/defensive lines and seeing it today in your walkabout was so instructional and educational!! Well done!
Great video, very well presented and I like the non dramatic aspect of your channel. No angles ,just calmly presented . Makes it so interesting. My Dad was in the Royal Navy in WW2. Served in India, Burma, and in the North Sea . Only 18 years old . And I grew up with a keen interest on everything about the war.
Thank you!
And thank you to your Father for serving in His Majesty’s Royal Navy! I’ll be honest my knowledge of the maritime aspect of ww2 is very limited as I’ve grown up studying air and land stuff but I will always have the utmost respect for those who served in the Navy, ensuring the artic convoys, trips across the Atlantic etc. incredible courage and fortitude to do what they did!
I had a neighbor who directed German artillery in Italy. Krupp sent him here to Canada after the war, he lived a good life here had many children lived well into his 90's. He told me he did not understand why Canadians came all the way over to Italy to shoot at him. 92,757 Canadians served in Italy, 26,254 casualties .
The causalities in Italy were certainly staggering. Thank you for sharing that about your neighbour.
Great presentation with combination of your aerial footage showing the lay of the land and actual combat footage explaining and showing the attacks. I can’t imagine trying to fight up that terrain. Shame those old villages got destroyed during the war. Thank you Jon for your continued efforts and research in bringing us these stories. 🫡
Thank you Troy, I hope it gave a good idea of just how tough the terrain was there. In my research before hand I knew it bad but only until I walked the ground there did it become apparent just how tough the Allies had it trying to advance on each mountain without any specialist training or equipment!
@@WW2WayfinderYour welcome, absolutely, your footage definitely captured the tough terrain. Good point about regular units not having specialized training or equipment for fighting in this terrain.
@@troykauffman3963 it struck me while I was there that these lads had to do basically the same as D-Day, ie an amphibious landing in contested conditions, but then instead of pushing through fields, they had to scale actual mountains and fight the enemy who knew the terrain and were well prepared. It’s not to take anything away from the ETO but comparing those facts, Italy was infinitely tougher for the regular soldiers. Something that hadn’t struck me until I was actually there!
My father-in-law was in the 36th 141st regt., and his brother was in the 142nd regt. I can see now what he was trying to describe and how difficult it was for him to talk about it. He never could get through it without showing major emotions. It took multiple attempts/visits to get through the stories. I was a high school history teacher and wanted to be able to explain to my students what it was like in some way. He said that every time we visited and we talked about his experiences, he would have nightmares that night and for a few nights afterwards. When I heard about that, I stopped asking him about his wartime experiences. Great job with your videos. Please keep them up!! Thank you for your efforts..
Always great content never miss your content, thank you very much
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Italy rarely gets any coverage so I hope this goes some way to showing just how tough it was there!
Great to see the Italian campaign get a look in. Sad that it doen't get covered much. Once again thanks for sharing these wonderful videos ;)
Thanks Rob, and I agree I’d love to see Italy and the men who fought there get more coverage in the press for the anniversaries of the respective landings there. I hope with it being the 80th Anniversary of the battle for Monte Cassino it may receive so acknowledgement.
Another excellent video. I am going to have to find several histories of the campaign in Italy. Keep up the great work.
Thank you!
Italy is an amazing place and the history there is staggering. It’s definitely a location I could spend a lot more time in! I’d also love to explore the Rome history there although I know next to nothing about it!
Another superb video!
Thank you!
Thank you for giving some attention to the Italian campaign. My father was a Corporal in the 141 Infantry Regiment Company D. It was interesting to see the terrain were he fought.
You’re most welcome! Those men never got the attention they deserved for that campaign sadly. I hope it gave you an idea of the terrain and views your Father would have been so familiar with all those years ago.
Recommended: The Deserters, A Hidden History of World War II, Charles Glass [1951- ]; "The Penguin Press, published by the Penguin Group, Penguin Groups (USA) Inc... First published in Great Britain as 'Deserter: The Last Untold Story of the Second World War,' [year omitted] HarperPress, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers" (2013 hardcover WWII).
Thank you for your Father's Service 🙏
Another great story "Thank You" for preserving history. I can see that the area has a rough terrain and the enemy had the initial advantage that's what made it so tough.
Thank you!
The terrain there really is something else and it’s hard to imagine how those troops fought there in winter without specialist mountain training or equipment!
Your research and narrative on these subjects is second to none !
Love the fact that you include alot of good historical footage,definitely a fan.
Thank you! Sadly the Pilsen parade hasn’t been digitised yet but fortunately even up to those last days of the war the US Signal Corps were thoroughly documenting everything they could!!!
@@WW2Wayfinder i played w2 games on a board with model tanks when i was 9..im now turning 58 this year and im still fascinated with that time,thank you for the great reply and looking forward to more content.
I completely enjoy your work, I love my military history, you deserve a medal of your own, Thank you for what you do for us all, From Tasmania
Thank you that’s very kind of you to say so.
All I hope is it helps to keep these stories alive for a future generation so the men who fought there and the reasons why aren’t forgotten!
Thanks again for taking the time to watch!
I haven't the money to get to the UK to meet but I would love to chance to just brainstorm with you about ww2
Couldn't imagine the slog of having to advance on the enemy up a steep hill,guts guts & more guts,i've read that it was some of the worst fighting in ww2,excellent video....
It’s incredible they managed it isn’t it. The scale of the terrain there is vast!
Hi Jon
Fascinating story once again!
Beautiful countryside with an ominous and dark history.
Great piece of work and editing, as well as smart use of excerpts from Houston’s original film reel to support your story to keep it in sync.
Thanks so much again for sharing another great video presentation ❤😊
Thanks Michael! San Pietro was such a sobering place to visit. It didn’t feel like there was a black cloud over the village but it really felt like you were walking among ghosts there. Hard to put into works really but a very unique place to visit and probably only comparable to Oradour in France.
Big thanks for sharing this ,🙏
You’re most welcome!
Splendid video.Many thanks.😊
You’re most welcome! Thanks for taking the time to watch
Love the history, my spouse would say how dare you ruin Italy for me. I guess I did when I dragged her on the 48hr Normandy tour lol! Glad your channel is top grade! Recall when you had 1.6k subscribers!
Haha don’t worry, Italy is still a stunning place to visit (if you need to sell the idea for a trip there 😉) and the food was out of this world, but for me the history of that country is just fascinating! Thanks for the support 😃
Great job on the episode
Thank you!
Wow great video!!✌️🇺🇲
Thank you!
Italian campaign, yes. Thank you.
Respect for the Allies. Brutal terrain where only seasoned Ibex even dare to roam.
It’s incredible isn’t it just how anyone would think to fight a war there using regular troops given the terrain!
@@WW2Wayfinder Agreed and Huston's contemporary film confirms that.
Also generally forgotten is how exceptionally well the Italian soldiers acquitted themselves once they had something to fight for that they believed in.
The absolute fortitude shown by Allies to take The Winter Line is exemplary and thank you for the episode Jon
It was an incredible effort wasn’t it!
And to think they were weeks away from the debacle at the Rapido River.
@WW2Wayfinder 16,000 casualties
Are you going to cover The Race for Rome with General Clark ??
@@TheFergie9 I didn’t have time sadly as it was only a flying visit over Easter but I’d like to at some point!
All for the semetic overlords. Look at the world now.
Heartbreaking, but that was the reality of war. Many towns and small cities were reduced to nothing, forcing civilians to look for other places to live. Because it's my country, it's sad what happened. And to rebuild, one more fight. Thank you for making these videos. Fred
Thanks for taking the time to watch Fred, and I genuinely feel sad when I see the devastation that was brought to Italian towns and villages for very little apparent gain. I just wish it received more attention from the popular media along with the sacrifices of the civilians who had to endure it all.
@@WW2Wayfinder I agree with you. But, unfortunately, politics and personal interests are in charge today. If the media looks at it and doesn't see any gain in it, it becomes abandoned, forgotten. What cannot be forgotten, and I am sure of it, are those people who experienced those years, days of destruction. and probably, the generations of those people. very sad! Fred
@@canaldofred7296 I couldn’t agree more!
I remember my Grandfather saying it was sad to see the little Italian Kids starving because the places were shelled. He said they'd give them rations.He said The Italian people had very little but they were good to the soldiers.
Great presentation of one of the numerous battles in those hills. Going up that valley a few year ago in a tour bus on the way to Monte Cassino I was struck by how easily artillery in those hills could dominate the land and roads below and hinder advancement. My wife had a relative who drove a Sherman tank up that route. Luckily, he survived.
It’s crazy isn’t it to think the Allied commanders would just keep throwing units against these positions given how tough the terrain was!
Great that you’ve been to the area and see it too as I had no concept of just how big the mountains were until I got there!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support Jim! I really appreciate it!
This is a very powerful and touching presentation. Many thanks…. JH
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and hopefully it helps to bring this particular battle to the forefront a little!
Incredible, thanks for your videos
You’re most welcome. Hope it helped to give you an idea of just how brutal the fighting was around that part of Italy!
Thanks again for taking the time to watch!
Just catching up on your recent content, excellent and informative as usual. Great work and thank you, Robbo 👌👍
Thanks Robbo! Glad you enjoyed!
Sugestão.... Vá para a Região de Riva Ridge - Monte Belvere - Monte Della Toraccia - M.Castello (BO) ... tem uma batalha que ocorreu em fevereiro de 1945, onde lutaram lado a lado a Décima Divisão de Montanha e a Força Expedicionário Brasileira... batalha chave para a conquista de Bolonha!
Thanks for the tip off!
@@WW2Wayfinder 🫡🇧🇷
Very interesting video! Thank you! Beautiful place.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
An outstanding presentation. Can't fathom the GIs partaking in Huston's recreation of the terrible/horrible experience they had just gone through - if I'm understanding correctly how his short film was made.
Thank you! And I agree it must have been hell for them having to recreate it for Huston days after everything they had just endured!
An awesome detailed episode!!! A walking tour of Berlin 👍👍👍
Thank you!!! Definitely need to get Berlin at some point!
@@WW2Wayfinder You have to quit your day job. We love your channel and need 24/7 content 👍🤣
Thank you.
You’re most welcome! Thank you for watching!
When napalm was introduced in mid december 43 in sicily,that was the game changer.Then,it was used in germany,and once the germans started getting burnt alive,they started to surrender in mass droves.I couldnt blame them,i would have to!
Likewise! Napalm was such an effective weapon.
@@WW2Wayfinder A little off topic But did the Allies use Napalm in the Firebombing of Dresden ? Apparently the famous Author Kurt Vonnegut witnessed it.
This is a great example of the consequences and destruction of war that will remain forever. Shame the heart of this city was destroyed. Nice to see content on the Italian campaign where some of the fiercest fighting took place in the allies push northward. Thanks for a well detailed presentation and view of the city.
Thank you. It always amazes me how little coverage Italy gets. Maybe it’s because it serves as a reminder that the war didn’t always go our way and that it was all street parties and liberation celebrations. The Italian civilians were caught up in all of it and the destruction didn’t make for good PR. At least that’s my personal view on it.
Thanks for taking the time to watch!
@@WW2Wayfinder I agree , so little is known about which many consider the war's "third front". The invasion proved vital for the demise of the fascist government, jumping points for allied bombers into southern germany and oil fields in Romania, freeing up shipping lanes for critical supplies.
Vicino al carnaio di Cassino! Tin consiglio il documentario " Sacrificate cassino " di Fabio toncelli
Great coverage of this Italian campaign battle. Very difficult terrain. Blast effect amplified by the rock. Hard to imagine how difficult it was to fight an survive. Lots of destruction. Interesting to see your photo search when you get to Cassino. Town was leveled and of course Monastery destroyed,. Keep up the fantastic work. I don't think the Italian campaign gets its fair share of coverage.
Sadly I wasn’t able to film at Cassino due to the weather closing in and the mountain upon which the abbey sits being completely shrouded in cloud and pouring rain!
San Pietro was my alternative episode
History lesson aside, you brought us to some spectacular country.
Italy was stunning and way beyond my expectations! Standing at the bottom of those mountains was something else!
MUITO BOM SEU DOCUMENTÁRIO ! CONTINUE ASSIM 👍👍 🇧🇷
Hard men attacking on such a rock-strewn mountain, that must've been tough going.
Hard to imagine isn’t it, especially without any specialist equipment or training!
I believe this battle was more heavier than Normandy.
Very much so! While Norman villages did suffer, the destruction in Italy was far higher
There was a reason Clark was hated by his men. San Pietro was one of them...
He was one of the worst army commanders we had, from my point of view and completely out of his depth which cost thousands of young men their lives, while he courted the press and enjoyed the limelight his position was entitled to.
What is sobering history lesson. You hear about the great battles and what's the warring factions went through. But you don't hear too much about what the civilians had to go through during the battle and afterwards. As you walk through those ruins I bet you could still feel the ghosts of the past. This was a great episode Jon. For me this episode makes me look at the bigger picture. Again stay safe.
Thank you Mike. San Pietro was quite the experience. Seeing how easily a community can be ravaged by conflict and the brutality involved really hit home to me there far more than other places I’ve been that have since been rebuilt and are serially tourist attractions. San Pietro did feel different somehow.
This episode actually brought tears to my eyes. Seeing the children walking around in Rubble really tug in my heart. And to think of the live ordinance that is left on the ground for some innocent child to pick up. And of course that's not to mention of being homeless or hungry. These type of episodes is why your channel has gotten so big. My son and I appreciate your Channel. Looking for to next time. Thanks again.
@@mikehall5815 I know what you mean. Seeing the innocence of youth exposed to man’s stupidity is gut wrenching.
is that in the Foggia region , my dad came up through there from Sicily in 1943 with the American Army.you are right the Italians did not want to fight against the Allies
Foggia is further east and south. San Pietro is on the western side of Italy, about 60 miles south of Rome
@@WW2Wayfinder great video . i dad also wanted to go back over there after the war
that is a great point ,the Italians did not want to fight against the Allies . they had enough of Mussolini
Exactly! By that point in the war they’d realised how to was all going to end!
@@WW2Wayfinder they also had cousins in the America Army
Imagine moving forward 14:13 at the enemy positions in closure on foot trying get onto the enemy positions having to take ground from the enemy as riflemen closing the quarters to hand grenade throwing proximity, rifle vs. rifle
13:56 14:07
14:15. 20:31
The entire front of the approach was under direct observation and fire.
The GIs were ordered to attack a MOUNTAIN.
21:27
Whole companies of guys were wiped out killed and wounded at *San* *Pietro* .
They still had fo rush forward to secure the ground they recovered from the enemy. 22:20
22:11 a GI is shot dead, moving forward, right in front of the combat camera reel man, hitting the ground. The GI moving alongside him goes to him.
It’s funny how the Germans changed the name of the Hitler line when they realized it was going to be breached
Or the local transmission shop every 2 or 3 years....to avoid warranty service....funny how the same guys answer the phone, if you know them by name.
I guess Italy wasn’t “the soft underbelly of Europe”.
The exact opposite! A terrible waste of men and civilian lives sadly.
That's what I said in an earlier post Churchill called it " The Soft Underbelly" while The Allied troops called it " The Tough Old Gut" and no wonder Everywhere from San Pietro To Monte Cassino to Ortona was a Slugfest. It's a shame these Men got labeled with The disparaging nickname " The D-day Dodgers".
Have you ever been to the place where they caught Mussolini and then shot him? If I'm not mistaken, he was arrested in Dongo and shot the next day in another location. When I went skiing with my father, we passed near the place. Fred
John Huston's footage on the battle for San Pietro wasn't released to the public till 1945. The battle scenes are staged but there were shots of dead GIs included and the US Army apparently opposed its earlier release to the public for fear it could have adverse effects on public morale.
Only thing Mark Clark was interested in was Mark Clark..
Churchill called this " The Soft Underbelly" No wonder the Soldiers called it "The Tough Old Gut " It was a hard Nut to crack. Its a shame They got Labeled with the disparaging Nickname "The D-day Dodgers "
Exactly! Getting the nickname D-Day Dodgers just feels so wrong when you really start to look at the campaign in Italy and what they had to endure. Next to the jungles of Burma I personally feel Italy had the toughest conditions to contend with!
@@WW2Wayfinder Wasn't it Lady Astor that gave them that name ? Not Denigrating or taking away what the Veterans at Normandy did on D-day ,But before that Invasion happened as you know there was a lot of Fighting , Bleeding and dying at places like Ortona,Anzio,Monte Cassino & The many Mountains that the Allies had to slog up The Italian Boot and I'm guessing if they didn't do that it would have probably impeaded the pace of The Normandy Landings.
you see the pointlessness of fighting for such a relatively barren piece of ground and yet the same thing is still happening today in Ukraine etc
Absolutely. It’s sadly something I think humans are incapable of learning from.
Watched it all Wayfinder. I didn't enjoy.
We think the Normandy landings as the worst, the Eastern front for Germans /Russians, or the Pacific.
These American 'propaganda' films could not hide the losses. Many American lives lost per 100 yards. The Italian campaign was brutal.
Thank you for the post.
Sorry, but I had to chuckle at the part where the locals prayed to their saint to intercede with God for help. Why would God need a saint to convince him to assist? I'm sure some Germans were saying their prayers too. I'm with Napoleon who said, "God is on the side of the strongest artillery." Something tells me that divine intervention didn't play a part in this struggle.
🙏❤️🩹🇺🇸🦅☮️❤️🩹🙏❤️🩹🙏
Holy moly, this is the content I always hoped for!!!!! ITS HERE 🥲
Thanks! Glad you like it! I’ve a few episodes from Italy but the majority is from Normandy and the Ardennes 😃
@@WW2Wayfinder even better!