The 10th Mountain Division was first formed on July 15, 1943, as a
light infantry division. It received extensive training in how to
fight effectively in extremely harsh conditions. Originally called
the 10th Light Division (Alpine), it was renamed to the 10th
Mountain Division on Nov 6, 1944.
The unit saw its first actual combat in Italy near Cutigliano
and Orsigna on January 1945. Preliminary defensive actions were
followed a month later by a concerted attack on the Silla-Mount
Belvedere sector, and the peak was cleared after several days of
heavy fighting. In early March the division fought its way north of
Canolle, taking several more peaks, and moving to within 15 miles
of Bologna. Maintaining defensive positions for the next three
weeks, the division jumped off again in April, captured Mongiorgio,
April 20, and entered the Po Valley, seizing the strategic points
Pradalbino and Bomporto. The 10th crossed the Po River on April 23,
reaching Verona April 25, and ran into heavy opposition at Torbole
and Nago. After an amphibious crossing of Lake Garda, it secured
Gargnano and Porto di Tremosine, April 30, as German resistance in
Italy ended. After the German surrender in Italy (May 2, 1945), the
division went on security duty, receiving the surrender of various
German units and screening the areas of occupation.
The division was deactivated on Nov 30, 1945. It would be
reactivated and deactivated several more times in the coming
decades before its final reactivation in 1985. It continues to
serve to this day in numerous parts of the world, having gained the
reputation as the most deployed division in the army.
The above coordinates will place you in front of and down below
the Visitor/Discovery Center, and before a small stone with a
plaque on it.
To solve for the coordinates of the final cache, consult the six
digit number (in years) on the plaque. Take the middle two digits
and replace the x’s in .0xx with them. Add this number to the
decimal minutes in the north coordinate.
For the west coordinate, add all six digits up as individual
numbers. Take this final number (two digits) and replace the x’s as
above in .0xx. Subtract this from the decimal minutes in the west
coordinates.
The final cache is a small magnetic keyholder and logsheet.
BYOP.