Monte Majo and Monte la Difensa were the critical twin mountain peaks which anchored the German defensive lines in Italy.Congressional Gold Medal, Public Law 113-16. https://www.congress.gov/113/plaws/publ16/PLAW-113publ16.htm The 1st Special Service Force managed to succeed in the Battle of Monte La Difensa on 3 to 9 December 1943 by scaling a steep cliff at night and attacking the German forces on the summit. The next principal objective planned for early January 1944 was the taking of Monte Majo, which was assigned to the Canadian contingent of the Devil's Brigade, and was an almost insurmountable problem. German artillery and machine-gun emplacements had been arranged in layers on the steep slopes. An attack on any one of them would alert the other defenses and also the main German positions on the summit. Any assaulting force would be met with withering fire. Earlier Allied attempts to take the mountain had met with failure and disastrous casualties.
