at the top of monte cassino stood a grand but old monastery, a key target for the 5th army. to take the gustav line, the allies would have to descend into the rapido river valley, traverse two miles of open fields filled with landmines, mud, and knee-deep cold water, cross a swift-moving river, and barbed wire and up the steep, rocky slopes, to the 1500-foot peak of monte cassino. from there they would have to ascend still higher to a four-story fortress, with 10-foot-thick stone walls. this was the st. benedictine monastery. the battle commenced in january. here they earned their nickname the "purple heart battalion." at night, a and c companies passed their way through the river reaching the wall where the enemy was located and held their ground under intense fire into the next day. b company was met with heavy machine gun fire as their cover by the smoke screen was blown away leaving only 14 of the original 187 men in b company to reach the wall.