168^th Infantry Regiment

The 168th Infantry Regiment, an Iowa National Guard unit of the 34th Infantry Division, entered federal service on February 10, 1941. Unlike the division's other infantry regiments, it entered combat during Operation Torch, landing west of Algiers on November 8, 1942 and helping seize the port and nearby airfields. In Tunisia the regiment fought in detached and division operations. At Sidi Bou Zid in February 1943, elements of the 168th were isolated on Djebel Lessouda and nearby hills and had to infiltrate out after German armored attacks broke the Allied position. The regiment later fought at Fondouk and in the Hill 609 operation, where its battalions helped clear the approaches north of the Sidi Nsir-Chouigui road.

The regiment landed in Italy in September 1943 and fought through the Volturno and Winter Line campaigns. It entered Dragoni in October and in November stormed Mount Pantano, holding the mountain against repeated German attempts to retake it before relief by the 135th Infantry. In January 1944 the 168th cleared heights overlooking the Rapido, then attacked through the bridgehead north of Cassino, taking Hills 56 and 213 after hard fighting and repelling counterattacks.

After the Cassino fighting the regiment served at Anzio and in the breakout. It fought at Lanuvio, reached Civitavecchia on June 7, and continued up the Italian coast and inland hills. During the Rome-Arno campaign it took Castellina on July 6. In the Gothic Line offensive it captured Monte Frassino, seized Hill 1134 east of Montepiano, and then fought down the Sambro Valley and around Hill 789, Hill 747, and Monte Venere as the division pushed through the North Apennines. The regiment remained with the 34th Division through the final advance into the Bologna and Po Valley sectors and ended the war near Iseo in northern Italy.