August Gates

Explanatory Essay

The Tenth Mountain Division was a specially trained group of soldiers, trained for
mountain operations, active during World War II. There are a number of reasons why I wrote
about the Tenth Mountain Division’s Riva Ridge Operation. Several years ago my dad showed
me a documentary about the Tenth Mountain Division and since then, I have truly been inspired
by what I have learned about this division of the United States Army. I thought it was the coolest
thing when I found out there was a specially-trained skiing division in our military. I chose to
research the Riva Ridge Operation because of the intensity what these men endured. The men
involved with pulling this operation off had to undergo extreme cold conditions, hours of hiking
during the night, and keeping the element of surprise.

The United States got involved with World War II when Japan bombed the American
fleet at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, although the war had been going on since the German
invasion of Poland in September of 1939. The 10th Mountain Division got involved with the war
when the U.S needed more soldiers to fight in the mountains of Italy. Infantry’s of the division
were in the Italian mountains by January of 1945. They were deployed right around the time that
military officials wanted to scrap the division and use the troops as reinforcements for other
battles in the war.

The proximate cause is in planning for the Belvedere Op. and taking Po Valley. The 10th
Mountain Division would have to take Riva Ridge for observation over the western portion of
the area, especially on Belvedere itself. Once this ridge was taken, the 10th Mountain Division’s
field artillery observers could open fire on the German positions which went along the line
Rocca Corneta-Polla-Corona-Belvedere. If the 10th Mountain Division didn’t take the ridge, the
German’s could open artillery on the backs of the 10th Mountain Division’s troops attacking
Belvedere. The 92nd Infantry and the Brazillian Expeditionary Force had been pushing for the
Po Valley for some time but they were just mounting up casualties.

While planning for the attack on M. Belvedere, the 10th Mountain Division realized it
would be very unsafe if they didn’t have control of Riva Ridge. The reason for this is that the
German’s could shoot on the backs of the 10th Mountain Division from Riva Ridge while they
were taking Belvedere. So the Division put the attack on Belvedere on hold until they had Riva.
The 10th Mountain Division had to scout trails that led to the ridge for weeks because if the
operation was to be successfully pulled off, they needed more than one route for the soldiers to
take. They hiked up this ridge for hours during the cold January/February nights to do
reconnaissance, as well as when they actually did the operation. Troops were broken into five
forces which were:
 - Force A—Trail #1, Objective, Pizzo di Campiano I Platoon Company A (2 A-6 MG5) 2
Litter Squads 1 Forward Observer and party.
- Force B—Trail #2, Objective, M. Cappel Buso 1 Company, Company B 1 MG Platoon,
1st Platoon, Company D, equipped with LMGs 2 Sections 81mm Mortar, 1st and 2nd
Sections, 3rd Platoon Company D equipped with 1 long barrel and 1 short barrel 81mm
mortar 2 Litter Squads 1 Forward Observer and party.
- Force C—Trail #3 1 Company, Company C 1 MG Platoon, 2nd Platoon, Company D,
equipped with LMGs 1 Section 81mm Mortar, 3rd Section, Company D, equipped with
two short barrel 81mm mortars 3 Litter Squads, 1 Pioneer Squad 1 Forward Observer and
party.
- Force D—Trail #4 1 Company less 1 Platoon, Company A 2 Litter Squads 1 Pioneer
Squad 1 Forward Observer and party.
- Force E—Trail #5 1 Company, Company F 1 MG Platoon, 1st Platoon, Company H 1
81 mm Mortar Section 2 Litter Squads. -- List of forces for the attack were taken from
THE RIVA RIDGE OPERATION REPORT OF LT. COL. HENRY J. HAMPTON
Commander 1st Battalion, 86th Mountain Infantry 10th Mountain Division.

The strength of the ridge at any given time was approximately 40 -50 men with dugout,
well-covered positions.

The mission of the battalion was:

- Take Riva ridge and defend its key terrain features.

- Protect the 10th Mountain Divisions left flank while their attacking M. Belvedere.
- Support and protect the left regiment while their taking M. Belvedere

The operation was carried out smoothly for the most part and helped them to the Po
Valley and the Alps.

This event is important for a number of reasons. One is it was the first real operation the
10th Mountain Division did. It was also a very crucial terrain feature to hold in that area that
would give them access to even more important terrain features like M. Belvedere and the Po
Valley. This was also a very challenging operation and the men in the 10th Mountain Division
pulled it off very well.

I chose to take the perspective of the U.S because I’ve been interested in the Tenth
Mountain Division for years. I wouldn’t have gone nearly as in-depth with their group if I had
chosen to take the perspective of another country, or chose a different war to research. I really
wanted to learn more from the perspective of the 10th Mountain Division rather than a different
division in the U.S or another country’s army. I felt very inspired by the Tenth Mountain
Division so I knew if I didn’t research them or didn’t take their perspective I would enjoy the
project much less. I feel that if I hadn’t already known I wanted to research the Tenth Mountain
Division when we started this project, I wouldn't have taken the United States perspective. I say
this because I would’ve wanted to broaden my own perspective on war and look at it through
different lenses than I have for most of my life.