Villa Grande
In order to keep up pressure on the whole front, the Indian 19th Brigade was ordered to attack Villa Grande and exploit any gains as far as the Arielli river which ran from the mountains through Tollo to the Adriatic. The attack went in at 05:30 on 22 December but failed in desperate fighting. The 1st/5th Essex Regiment renewed their attack the following morning with more success. After a counterattack by German paratroops had been repulsed at midday, the Essex advanced to mop up the remainder of the village. However, deadly small scale house-to-house battles continued throughout the rest of 23 December and for the next two days as the determined parachute soldiers clung on. To the south of Villa Grande, the 3rd/15th Punjabis had taken Vezzano on 23 December and a continuous brigade line had been established.
On 25 December, reinforcements in the form of 3rd Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment were brought forward and after a softening up barrage were launched at the east side of Villa Grande. With four battalions now involved (the 5th battalion Royal West Kent Regiment had by now been tasked on the south east side of the village) supported by tanks, Villa Grande was finally cleared by the end of 26 December. The troops of the Indian Division entered the village to find a shambles. One correspondent described the scene "as though a giant had trodden on a child's box of blocks".
Read more about this topic: Moro River Campaign