LOADING MULES WITH AMMUNITION for 155-mm. howitzers in the Castel del Rio area on Highway 6524, between Firenzuola and the town of Imola in the Po Valley. After breaching the Gothic Line at Il Giogo Pass an attempt to reach the Po Valley at Imola was made along the route above. Because of the exposed salient and stiff enemy resistance, the axis of attack was changed to Highway 65. On 1 October, the day the picture was made, bloody fighting for possession of the controlling height of Monte Battaglia, east of Castel del Rio, was in progress.] [Illustration: ITALY A TANK BATTALION PREPARING TO ATTACK along Highway 65 toward the village of Monghidoro. The attack started on the morning of 1 October and by evening of the 2d the village was securely in Allied hands. The Sherman tanks pictured here are all armed with 76-mm. guns.] [Illustration: ITALY TRUCK TOWING HOWITZER along Highway 65 during the beginning of the 1 October drive. Smoke is from M2 smoke generators. (6-ton truck; 155-mm. howitzer.)] [Illustration: ITALY TERRAIN OF THE WINTER STALEMATE in the northern Apennines, looking toward the southeast. The high mountain peak in distance is Monte Vigese. This mountain was taken by the South Africans of the Fifth Army on 6 October 1944 after a three-day fight. The territory in the foreground was in enemy hands until the beginning of March 1945 when it was taken by American and Brazilian troops in a limited offensive to obtain better jumping off places for the main attack toward the Po Valley.] [Illustration: ITALY NEGRO TROOPS ADVANCING ON HIGHWAY 12 along the Torrente Lima. Jeeps with trailers were used and in danger areas the windshields were folded forward and covered with canvas to prevent light reflection. The sort of road demolition shown was common during the fighting in the northern Apennines. Valley roads were subject to natural landslides, and large-scale destruction was easy to accomplish.] [Illustration: ITALY ROAD IN THE APENNINES during the October drive. After the first week, weather was a contributing factor to the slow pace of the offensive. Rainy and foggy days worked almost entirely to the benefit of the enemy. Artillery observation planes were grounded and few of the planned air missions could be flown. Finally, with each mile that the troops advanced over the rain-soaked trails and dirt roads, the problem of keeping supplies moving forward increased. Engineers kept working night and day pouring gravel and crushed rock on the roads. They managed to keep highways open for all types of vehicles and side roads passable for the four-wheel-drive jeep and the powerful 2½-ton truck. (Jeep; 2½-ton truck.)] [Illustration: ITALY