PFC Andrew G. Biggio Square Memorial - 34th 'Red Bull' Infantry Division
Details:
Adjacent to the Gothic Line Museum (Museo Gotica Toscana). Commemorative Object
A street sign honoring the 34th Infantry Division soldier, Private First Class Andrew G. Biggio.
PFC Biggio was assigned to B Company, 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division. An infantryman, Biggio fought valiantly with the Red Bulls, liberating the Italian towns of Viterbo, Cecina and Liverno. His heroic actions in combat earned Pvt. 1st Class Biggio a Bronze Star Medal.
Since the Italian peninsula was essential to the success of Nazi Germany’s military efforts, the Nazi regime fortified various west-to-east “lines” across the country as they retreated north. Constructed substantially by slave labor, one of the most impervious was the “Gothic Line,” stretching throughout the northern part of the Apennine Mountains. The “Gothic Line” consisted of more than 2,000 well-fortified machine gun nests, bunkers and observation posts.
In the allied attempt to break the “Gothic Line,” soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division’s 135th Regiment charged up impossibly steep terrain to force the Nazi retreat. It was during this effort that Biggio was killed on Sept. 17, 1944, on Hill 599.
Source: Minnesota National Guard Website
Monument Text:
PFC ANDREW G. BIGGIO
SQUARE
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
135th Infantry Regiment
135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division
34th Infantry Division
5th Army
Wars:
WWII
Battles:
Gothic Line
Italian Campaign
Other images :
