Difensa: One of Special Warfare's First Battles

Welcome to a Blog devoted to the origins of the special forces, particularly the First Special Service Force (FSSF), a WWII Canadian-American commando unit that along with the OSS’s Jedburghs and Darby’s Rangers pioneered special warfare.

I asked Capt. Larry Basha of the US special forces what the greatest achievement of the FSSF in the history of special warfare. Basha cited the Force’s first and most celebrated operation, the attack on Monte la Difensa in central Italy in December 1943. This posting explores this battle and battlefield!

According to Basha, Difensa was historic because it was an operation that initiated the collapse of the German’s Winter Line (although the final collapse would come after months of hard fighting), and changed the course of the Italian war. Until the small hours of December 3 when the FSSF’s 2nd Regiment scaled cliffs behind and surprised the German Panzergrenadiers on the summit of Difensa, the foremost and most important peak overlooking the Mignano Gap and the entrance way into the Lira Valley, the Allied advance up the Italian peninsula had stalled completely. The Difensa operation the FSSF conducted that night kick-started this offensive, and because the Force was made up of 1,800 fighters and 2nd Regiment a mere 600 men (probably 200 of which fought in the initial battle) it is no wonder this operation is still studied today.

The FSSF did not attack Difensa in isolation. Their attack corresponded with a British effort to seize the neighboring peak of Monte Camino and the U.S. 142nd attack on Monte Maggiore. But Difensa was the lynchpin. The summit was seized in two hours of fighting, although it took days to clear the Panzergrenadiers from the entire mountain complex. Still Difensa arguably was where a chapter in special forces-history was born.

I visited Difensa for the second time last September, and for the first time explored the slope above the village of Caspoli, roughly where Camino and Difensa are joined. I found the climb exhausting and arduous, and my respect for the FSSF and their accomplishment was heightened.

But as I climbed three FSSF re-enactors wearing the uniforms and carrying the kit that the Force men went into battle with where returning down the mountain after scaling the slope the day before and spending a rainy night on the summit.

John Dallimore and Paul Dray told Special Forces Then and Now their impressions after inspecting firsthand this high-altitude battlefield.

Paul Dray said of the Difensa: “It was smaller than I thought, and I was kind of surprised to find the emplacements still intact. I have to admit, I had done some research, but now that I have been there, I read accounts and have a three dimensional picture in my head... the climb must have been horrendous, it was bad enough for us, but for them -- the wind, sleet, darkness, and the constant threat of death.”

John Dallimore had this to say:

Q: How did your understanding of the Difensa battle change after climbing the peak, and inspecting the plateau first hand?

DALLIMORE: The battle itself would have been very close combat. Footing was terrible and I cannot imagine making bold runs in the fog over the rocky terrain.

Q: What was the one thing about Difensa that was most different than you had imagined?

DALLIMORE: The biggest shock was how small the area at the top was. If all of 2nd Regiment was at the summit, it would have been crowded! The climb wasn't bad, but the footing was awful and you had to watch your step constantly. I cannot imagine running over this ground and avoiding enemy fire.

Q. Was it a tougher than you imagined?

DALLIMORE: I enjoyed the climb. I thought that it would be harder than it was. We climbed using the same uniforms and equipment the force used in 1943. Corcoran jump boots are not ideal climbing boots!

Q. You said to me in Italy that inspecting the battlefield also changed your views of the British action on Camino.

DALLIMORE: I gained a whole new respect for what the British had to face on Camino. Whereas the Force could use the element of surprise by coming up the most unexpected route, the British had no choice but to do a head on assault with poor cover. It was on a par with the assault up Mt. Cassino. Luckily they did take that mountain, because the FSSF would have been in trouble if the germans had not been pushed off that peak.

Thanks to John and Paul for their impressions on this historic battlefield.