Battle of Monte Marrone
Part of Italian Campaign of World War II
Date 31 March 1944 Location Monti delle Mainarde, Italy Result Italian victory[1]
Belligerents
Nazi Germany	Kingdom of Italy
Commanders and leaders
Fridolin von Senger	Umberto Utili
Strength
3,000 German Soldiers	4,933 Italian soldiers 30-40 motorcycles 4 trucks 80 Artillery pieces

The Battle of Monte Marrone^[2] on 31 March 1944 saw the Italian Liberation Corps , commanded by General Umberto Utili , fight in the vicinity of Cassino . In the episode, Italian units supported by Moroccan units operating nearby attempted to force the Germans to abandon Monte Marrone and Monte Mare , two heights of the small Mainarde mountain range , between Lazio and Molise.

The Italian War of Liberation was the background for the battle on this mountain pass. On 31 March, the Alpine soldiers from Piemonte launched their attack on the summit, which was 1,805 meters high, and at first, they surprised the enemy.^[3] The Italian troops were part of the Liberation Corps (CIL) along with the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment; the XXIX and XXXIII Battalions served in the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment, and the CIL's 1st Motorcycle Company also participated. The Goito Battalion received a Silver Medal for Military Valour for their effort in this battle. The Alpini and the paratroopers from the Nembo Parachute Division were also engaged. While the Alpini were able to complete their mission, the paratroopers were not able to complete their mission of evicting the Germans from the summit.^[4]

On 2 April, the Germans attempted an inferior attack on the 1st Division line; it was approximately 800 meters away. On the morning of the 3rd of April, at 5:30 a.m., the Germans launched a major assault on the Italians' positions, which was met by fire from the Italians and the mines along their lines. The Germans made another attempt to capture the summit on 10 April, employing 3 battalions of Gebirgsjäger troops. One battalion breached the Italian Defense, resulting in heavy fighting in the trenches and nearly compromising the Italians' hold on the summit. The arrival of an additional Alpine company stabilized the situation, while Italian artillery fire blocked German reinforcements. As a result, Italian forces were able to recover the positions that had briefly been lost.^[5]

The conquest of the summit allowed the Italians to advance along the Monte Marrone, Monte Mare , Venafrana plain , Picinisco route , a town which was reached on 28 April.^[4]