The project is entirely based on real events and documented thanks to the memories of still living veterans. Miniseries reconts the important battles that broke the German front in the central sector of the Gothic Line, in the upper Apennines between the provinces of Bologna, Modena, and Pistoia, prologue to the end of the Second World War in Italy, and look at the relations between soldiers and the population.
The miniseries, dubbed in Italian and English, is structured into 3 episodes, each averaging 40 minutes in lenght.
Each episode is developed around a specific incident of the events that took place in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines between January and April 1945.
The project follows Company G of the 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment from its arrival in Italy to the end of the war.
Two short documentaries are planned before and after the miniseries:
T
he first documentary tell the story of the creation of the 10th Mountain Division up to its arrival in Italy, providing the viewer with a historical panorama of the Division from its formation, which took place between the end of 1941 and mid-1942, to its training, which lasted over two years. The documentary is the introduction to the mini-series. 
The second documentary is a Then and Now of people, countries and battlefields. Photographs and films compared between 1944/45 and today as well as memories of soldiers and civilians. The documentary is completed by photographs of the main monuments to the 10th Mountain Division in the Apennines, all including geotagged
Episode 1:
The episode follows the Company from Gavinana to its mobilization at the front, when it reached the bivouac areas near Monte Belvedere.
The episode also recounts the assault carried out by the unit on Monte Spigolino, on February 5, 1945 and follows the Company from the attack on Monte Belvedere to Hill 1027, a peak near the Emigrants Lady Oratory in Ronchidoso, from where the unit repulsed numerous counter-attacks during the night between 20-21 February 1945.
Episode 2:
The episode begins by following the company on Hill 1036, a hill near Jola di Montese, located about half mile from Monte della Torraccia, to the rear of Gaggio Montano. where they suffered too many casualties and on the morning of February 24, and from where the Company was sent away from the front for a day.
The episode then follows the Company to Campo Tizzoro, where they were sent for a brief rest.
Episode 3:
The episode follows the company during the attack on Hill 909, a hill near Castel d’Aiano, on the bloodiest day of the 10th Division: April 14, 1945.
Company G is remembered for being the unit in which John D. Magrath, a young soldier of only 20 years, served and was killed on the day of the attack on Hill 909. He alone attacked 4 German foxholes, 2 with MG42 machine guns, taking prisoners or killing an enemy with one of the previously captured MG42 machine gun.
Magrath was the only soldier of the 10th Mountain Division to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during WW II. The episode follows the company through the end of the war.
AIM OF THE PROJECT
The project has two objectives :
- The first, of a historical and cultural nature, aims above all to transmit history to young people of the new generations in order to keep it alive and to fix in images the memory of the past through the personal memories of the veterans.
Soldiers, who were then boys mostly 19/24 years old, who came to fight in Italy far from home and loved ones, in contact with people of completely different cultures and customs, in damp foxholes dug in the ground, in the cold and surrounded by rain and snow.
The risk of dying at any moment from enemy artillery or in combat, the excruciating experience of losing a comrade changed and marked their lives forever.
Memories and nightmares that, according to many veterans, stayed with them for years, well beyond their return home.
- The second objective is to raise awareness and appreciation the territory where the battles depicted in the mini-series took place, and to provide viewers with an informated motivation to visit these places.
The project is also a tribute to all those who fought and gave their lives for our freedom, especially the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War.:
- The first, of a historical and cultural nature, is mainly aimed at passing the story on to young people of the new generations so that it remains alive, fixing in images the memory of the past through the personal memories of veterans.
Soldier, who were then boys mainly 19/24 years old, who came to fight in Italy away from home and loved ones, in contact with people of completely different cultures and customs, in humid foxholes dug in the ground, cold and surrounded by rain and snow.
The risk of dying at any moment from enemy artillery or in combat, the excruciating experience of losing a companion changed and marked their life forever.
Memories and nightmares which many veterans report accompanied them for years, well beyond the return to their homeland.
- The second objective is to raise awareness and value the territory where the fights recounted by the miniseries took place, providing viewers with an well-informed motivation to visit these places.
The project is also a tribute to all those who fought and gave their lives for our freedom, especially the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War.
PRESENTATION
Direction and Story
Luciano La Valle
Luciano studied at the Accademia Artisti in Rome, a national school of cinema and acting.
He has written, directed and acted in short films set in World War II.
In 2019, he received an award for the short film “The Failure of the War” at the CineFuturaFest in Rome, a national cinema competition.
Produced by
Andrea and Giuliano Gandolfi
Co-production
Il Trebbo Cultural Group.
Non-profit association based in the municipality of Montese.
Since 1992 it has managed the Historical Museum of Jola di Montese and is interested in local history and culture through books and cultural initiatives.
Executive producers
Andrea and Giuliano Gandolfi, Guglielmo Mattiello
Historical Consultancy
Respectively deputy director of the Jola di Montese Museum and curators of the Memorie d’Italia collections.
They have written two books, In my father’s foxholes and footsteps and Gothic line bloody red, concerning the history of the 10th Mountain Division of the United States in Italy in 1945, which includes original colour photographs and memories of soldiers and officers, and a recent publication on the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and its participation in the Second World War in the Central Northern Apennines.
Locations
Jola di Montese Museum 1940s kitchen room and bedroom, Monte Belvedere (Lizzano in Belvedere), Hill 1036 and Rochidoso (Gaggio Montano), Monte della Torraccia and Monte Terminale (Montese), Monte della Spe, Monte Castellana and quota 909 (Castel d'Aiano), Monte Spigolino (Fanano), Campo Tizzoro and Prunetta (San Marcello Piteglio).
Historical reenactment groups
OVERLORD ’44 LHG – FUBAR - ULTIMO FRONTE 1945 - LA CROCE DI FERRO
WW2s Military vehicles:
GMC, Command Car, Willys, Dodge
Master of arms
Galliano Sfx - Roma
Pyrotechnic effects
Benassi - Castel d’Aiano
Jola team
Shooting
Between March 2022 e March 2023,
Promotion and release
May 2022 - promo trailer - Watch the video
December 2022 - teaser - Watch the video
April 2023 - Official trailer -Watch the video
June 11, 2023 - Screening in English-US to the people of the TMD Descendants Italy Tour 2023
June 17, 2023 - Italian Première
June 17, 2024 - United States Première at Fort Drum "The House of the 10th Mountain Division"
June 21, 2024 - United States, Chicago Des Planes Theatre
March 26, 2025 - Lake Placid, ISHA Award 2025
Awards
Winner, International Skiing History Association Film Award 2025
Info about the miniseries - trailers, photographs, curiosities, backstage -
Website: https://www.1945mountainmen.tv/en-us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1945mountainmen
IOLA di MONTESE - Historycal Museum System -
Website: https://www.memorieditalia.it/en-us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/museoioladimontese/
Info
