Operation Encore

In the brutal calculus of the Italian Front, Operation Encore was the desperate gamble to shatter Field Marshal Kesselring’s Gothic Line, a merciless network of fortified peaks and hidden strongholds the Germans considered 'unscalable'. The 10th Mountain Division, comprised of men like Johnnie Grey, launched a multi-pronged offensive, beginning with a silent, harrowing night climb of Riva Ridge—without artillery or preliminary bombardment, relying solely on ropes, pitons, and sheer human will against the unyielding rock.

Each desperate foot of ascent through the inky blackness was an act of unbelievable bravery, pushing them toward an enemy entrenched in an impregnable fortress, utterly unaware of the impossible assault. The fate of the Italian campaign—and thousands of lives—teetered on the razor's edge of their silent, death-defying climb.