During the autumn of 1944, the 8th Hussars took part in a great Allied offensive intended to break the Gothic Line; a 200-mile long, 10-mile deep wall of German artillery and fortifications. Stretching from the port of La Spezia on the Tyrrhenian Sea to the city of Pesaro on Italy’s eastern shore, the Gothic Line provided a near-impenetrable barrier to the heartland of the Italian Social Republic, the Nazi puppet state that played host to all the German troops in Italy. If the Allies were to liberate Italy, the Gothic Line had to fall.
After a long summer spent training and relaxing in the Roman countryside, the 8th Hussars mounted their tanks for another campaign. They travelled north, battling their way through the Apennine Mountains, skirting German defenses as they went. As August faded and the first traces of autumn were felt, the Canadians came to the narrow plain that separated the mountains from the Adriatic Sea. Between them and their destination of Rimini lay 40 kilometers of alternating valleys and ridges, bristling with the strength of the German 10th Army. The 8th Hussars, as part of the 5th Division, were a part of the initial force tasked with breaching the Gothic Line and pushing to Rimini, a contrast to their role in the battle of Monte Cassino, where they had played a supporting part in the action.
The first action they saw on the Gothic Line was the battle at Montecchio, in which the Cape Breton Highlanders attacked three times before withdrawing. Eventually, the Hussars came to their assistance, and they captured the village, taking 130 prisoners. At the same time, A Squadron defended Point 111 a short distance away. The villages of Monte Luro, Monte Marrone, and Tomba di Pesaro fell shortly afterwards to the advancing Canadians. On September 3rd, 1944, the Canadian forces arrived at Misano, a small village perched atop a ridge, and one of many anchors of the Gothic Line. The Royal Canadian Regiment and the Westminster Regiment led the charge, with the 8th Hussars providing armoured support to the infantry units.
The first action they saw on the Gothic Line was the battle at Montecchio, in which the Cape Breton Highlanders attacked three times before withdrawing. Eventually, the Hussars came to their assistance, and they captured the village, taking 130 prisoners. At the same time, A Squadron defended Point 111 a short distance away. The villages of Monte Luro, Monte Marrone, and Tomba di Pesaro fell shortly afterwards to the advancing Canadians. On September 3rd, 1944, the Canadian forces arrived at Misano, a small village perched atop a ridge, and one of many anchors of the Gothic Line. The Royal Canadian Regiment and the Westminster Regiment led the charge, with the 8th Hussars providing armoured support to the infantry units.
There was no major battle at Misano Ridge. Instead, the next four days would prove to be a series of confused skirmishes between the attacking Canadians and the Germans, now on the defensive. A Lieutenant Burns of the RCR would bravely lead a bayonet charge against the enemy, driving them from the town square. The 48th Highlanders advanced to attack, but were forced to retreat when heavy enemy fire pinned them down. The 8th Hussars attacked the hamlet of Besanigo, a hamlet on the seaward slope of Misano Ridge, early on the 4th of September. Mortars held them up, with "B" Squadron pinned on the ridge for most of the day, as "A" Squadron tried futilely to help. They fired smoke shells at enemy guns on neighbouring Coriano Ridge, but the enemy were not fazed, and the Hussars did not capture Besanigo.
The 8th Hussars lost six tanks that day, but one Hussar received the Regiment's first Distinguished Conduct Medal during the battle. Sgt. W. P. Fleck dismounted his tank when daylight was running out and making it hard for crew commanders to see anything. Fleck led his tanks to their objective, killing five Germans with a machine-carbine and capturing eight more. He was wounded by shrapnel, but continued on with his injury until he passed out from loss of blood.
The 8th Hussars lost six tanks that day, but one Hussar received the Regiment's first Distinguished Conduct Medal during the battle. Sgt. W. P. Fleck dismounted his tank when daylight was running out and making it hard for crew commanders to see anything. Fleck led his tanks to their objective, killing five Germans with a machine-carbine and capturing eight more. He was wounded by shrapnel, but continued on with his injury until he passed out from loss of blood.
The following morning, the Cape Breton Highlanders and the Irish Regiment of Canada were able to capture Besagino. Two days previous, the Hastings and Prince Edward companies captured the village of Santa Maria di Scacciano from the enemy. By the end of the fifth, all of Misano Ridge was under Canadian control. The battle for the Gothic Line, however, was just getting started. A ridge over, at Coriano, the Germans began a vicious mortar and shelling campaign, a resistance unanticipated by the Allies, but calculated and executed coldly and precisely by the defending Nazis. Just as the first skirmishes were beginning to pay off, the advance to Rimini was abruptly halted.
For the next ten days, the Canadians fought for every scrap of land they could hold. The center of that struggle, a simple, idyllic hilltop village, was to be the sight of one of the most destructive and hard-fought battles in the 8th Hussars' entire career as a regiment. In the end, Misano was a warm-up, paling in comparison to the utter, indiscriminate destruction of Coriano Ridge.
For the next ten days, the Canadians fought for every scrap of land they could hold. The center of that struggle, a simple, idyllic hilltop village, was to be the sight of one of the most destructive and hard-fought battles in the 8th Hussars' entire career as a regiment. In the end, Misano was a warm-up, paling in comparison to the utter, indiscriminate destruction of Coriano Ridge.
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