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168th Infantry in Combat
168th Infantry in Combat
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 26 Oct 2025

The Bernhardt Line was an area of German strongpoints in the mountainous region shown between the solid and dotted blue lines on the following map.​

Italy, mid-November 1943 to mid-January 1944

 Around the end of 1943, the US Fifth Army's advance into the Winter Line area on the western portion of the Italian front was painfully slow. To the east, the British Eighth Army made better progress, actually penetrating the main German defensive line near Ortona on the Adriatic Sea.
On 18 November 1943, the US Fifth Army was reorganized, with a new corps headquarters and several new combat units. It now included three corps:
  • On the Fifth Army left: British X Corps.
  • On the Fifth Army middle: US II Corps (in place as of 18 November).
  • On Fifth Army right: US VI Corps.
The Fifth Army rested for most of the remainder of November before resuming attacks on the Bernhardt Line section of the Winter Line.
Gains of the Winter Line Campaign
Winter Line Gains, 15 Nov 1943–15 Jan 1944
A more-detailed Scalable Map

Two of the Dead

The following two men were killed over a month apart in time but only a few straight miles apart in distance. Fifth Army progress in the Winter Line area was glacial.
  • Private Earl Card, an orphan, was raised by his grandparents in my home town of Avoca, Iowa and served with the 4th Ranger Battalion, dying southwest of Venafro on November 12.
  • Captain Henry Waskow of rural Belton, Texas served with the 36th Infantry Division and was killed somewhere on Mt. Sammucro on December 14.

​During World War II, millions of Americans learned about  the human costs of warfare from the newspaper columns of Ernie Pyle. Below is an excerpt from Ernie Pyle's best-known column; click to read the entire article.
Ernie Pyle in Italy
Ernie Pyle in Italy
Ernie Pyle was killed by a sniper's bullet on Ie Shima Island near Okinawa on 18 April 1945.

The British Eighth Army

In the fall of 1944, The US Fifth Army and British Eighth Army advanced northward through southern Italy, with the Eighth Army on the right flank of the Fifth Army.

Eighth Army penetrated the east end of the German Gustav Line but was unable to make a major breakthrough.
Eighth Army Area of Operations, late 1943
Eighth Army Area of Operations, November–December 1943

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassinio/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line 02-02 - WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line: (six dead, updated 27 Oct 2025)
† Cozine, Thomas Verne, SN 37-421-270, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., Fifth Army; WIA Dec 1943; DOW 15/16 Jan 1944 in hospital, Italy
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line
† Dixon, Gene Willard, SN 38-006-349, US Army, Pott. Co. & Denver Co., CO
  • HQ Co., 157th Inf. Regt.; 45th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 15 Dec 1943 near Conca Casale, Molise, Italy, west of Venafro & east of Cassino..
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line
† Koenemann, Howard Oscar, SN 20-706-799, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Co. M, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 3 Dec 1943 Mt. Pantano, NE of Cassino, Lazio, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line @ Battle of Mt. Pantano
† Mardesen, Ray Wells, SN 37-037-474, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • 135th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 5 Jan 1944 Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line
† Shrimpton, Wayne Ralph, SN 20-705-544, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • Transferred from 168th Inf. Regt. to 133rd Inf. Regt., both 34th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army.
  • KIA 1 Dec 1943 near Venafro, Molise, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line
† Stone, Warren Floyd, SN 20-706-222, US Army, Mills Co.
  • Transferred from Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt. to Co. I, 133rd Inf. Regt., both 34th Inf. Div., VI Corps, Fifth Army; KIA 5 Dec 1943 near Venafro, Molise, Italy.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line @ Battle of Mt. Marrone
 
​Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Naples to Cassino/Anzio > The Bernhardt Line webpage 
This list needs editing.