At the end of November the regiment headed east. The American Eighth Army had pushed the Germans back across the Sangro River near the Adriatic coast and the Hasty Ps provided reinforcement as the Allies were to push across the Moro River. The Germans had destroyed all the bridges. The weather was miserable and the ground had turned to mud. The regiment relieved the Royal Irish Fusiliers on the top of a ridge looking down into the deep Moro River valley. The actual attack was to take place 5 kilometres inland, but the Hasty Ps were to provide a feint attack near the mouth of the river. Able company was chosen to attempt the crossing. At 2100 hrs on December 5, the company advanced and succeeded in advancing with no enemy fire. After it crossed the river, enemy machine guns erupted and a dozen flares lit up the night, revealing the company's position to the enemy, followed by artillery and mortar shells. There was no cover for the men other than to dive into the mud. The commanding officers realized that Able company would soon be lost and word was sent for the men to retreat.

 

The battle was by no means over. The advance farther inland had been unsuccessful and the Hasty Ps were to try to cross again the next day. This time they had the support of the Saskatoon Light Infantry which fired mortars on known enemy positions and British tanks and guns fired upon the enemy. The regiment began its advance at 1400 hrs on the 6th. Charlie company led the attack, with Able remaining behind in reserve. Smoke bombs hid Charlie from the enemy, but the supporting tanks got caught in the mud on the valley floor. Charlie was running out of ammunition so it and Dog company were ordered to retreat. When ordered forward to take over Charlie's position, Able company crossed the river and scrambled through the mud to the protection of the northern slope. Within an hour Able and Baker companies were across and were climbing up the slopes. They made it to the crest and discovered German tanks and infantry. It was dusk and they dug in below the crest for the night. Sleep would have been impossible as large artillery fired over them and the night was cold and wet.

 

On the morning of December 7, the regiment held the only Canadian foothold across the Moro River. The advances further inland had been abandoned and the Germans actually believed that the feint advance of the Hasty Ps was the major thrust. They were sending their forces and tanks to the area. The tanks that were to cover the regiment were still stuck in the mud in the valley. Things didn't look hopeful.

 

Charlie company helped to get two six-pounder guns successfully carried across the valley and set up near Able company, along with mortars and bombs. As darkness fell, two platoons were sent to the crest and took up positions. At 0100 hrs on the 8th, the counter attack began. The enemy was trying to clear the regiment off the slope. The Able company platoon retreated. The enemy tanks followed and fell into a trap. Able company fired from one side and Baker from the other. The German retreat was a mess and at least forty of their men were killed. The regiment held this small area while the Germans continued to try to unseat it until Canadian reinforcements arrived. The Germans withdrew northward on December 10.

 

Out of Andy's platoon, he was one of only nine members who wasn't killed or injured. A platoon usually has anywhere from 20 to 50 men and three or four platoons comprise a company.

 

The regiment had little rest as the Allies followed the Germans towards Ortona, a town on the coast, 3 kilometres north. Indeed, they moved constantly up the coast road until December 19, with the support of the tanks of the Ontario Regiment, settling 2.5 kilometres from Ortona on the 11th, under heavy fire. On the 13th, two companies were able to push forward a few yards. The regiment kept the pressure on the Germans on the coast road while the bulk of the army was inland, pushing northeast towards Ortona. The regiment was under-manned, having lost so many at the Moro River and on the 14th Andy was promoted to acting lance corporal. The regiment was relieved from the coast road on the 19th by the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and brought inland to rest before the push to Ortona.

 

The regiment camped in an olive grove and at 1000 hrs on December 22, a German shell landed in the centre of the camp, destroying the regimental aid post and killing the medical staff. A front had been established on the Ortona road and the regiment was tasked with pushing through the front and taking a ridge near the sea. Able and Charlie companies pushed forward more than a kilometre through constant fire from artillery, machine guns and mortars. Supporting tanks had failed to arrive due to minefields and Baker company made an unsuccessful attack. Eventually two tanks arrived and a subsequent attack succeeded. During the night, the regiment cleared a path through a mine field so it would have tank support the next day.

 

On Christmas Eve, a wet and bitterly cold day, a severely depleted Able company had reached its objective, but the Germans still held the top of the ridge and the men continued to shoot at the German machine gun positions that were fighting to the death. The remainder of the regiment pushed forward with Able, although Charlie had taken many casualties the previous day and pulled up the rear. The 48th Highlanders had the good fortune to push through a gap in the German defences and advance a kilometre. The men fought through Christmas Day. Mules were brought in to carry supplies to the field and the injured from it. The battle continued until December 29 with the regiment holding their ground. The Third Infantry Brigade passed through to Ortona, providing the Hasty Ps with a brief rest. They remained in position until January 9, 1944, enduring light shell fire and finding shelter in destroyed farm buildings.

 

On the 9th, the regiment moved forward to relieve the 48th Highlanders who were holding the neighbouring villages of San Tommaso and San Nicola, 3 kilometres east of Ortona. The Hasty Ps were a constant target of enemy shells there and the regiment had to keep its heads down. On January 30, the regiment was ordered to launch a daylight attack as part of a battalion across a two kilometre plain to the east towards the village of Tollo. The Germans sensed that the Allies were below strength in this region and this attack would prove that wasn't the case, although the Hasty Ps were going up against a strong German defence. To everyone, the attack seemed suicidal. Surprisingly, the supporting tanks reached the enemy positions but the Germans soon launched the most massive barrage that the Hasty Ps had experienced in Italy. By dusk, the infantrymen had crawled back to their starting point. The next day, February 1, the Germans believed that they had beaten the Allies and the Allies were shocked when they were told that the attack would be repeated. The men swallowed any fear and set out again. The surprised enemy redoubled the barrage and finally the Hasty Ps' commander ordered them to retreat. On February 2, Andy was reported injured but the wound must have been superficial enough that he didn't need to be sent to hospital. He was appointed acting corporal around this time.

 

The regiment returned to the sporadic shelling of San Tommaso and San Nicola and fresh reinforcements began to arrive, to fill out the skeleton that was the regiment. For the rest of the winter and into early spring, the regiment patrolled the area around the villages and endured mud, snow and heavy rain. On March 15, Andy was promoted to lance corporal.

 

By April, it was as if Mother Nature flicked a switch and spring arrived almost overnight. Of the Hasty Ps who had sailed from Scotland, only about a third remained, the others replaced with reinforcements. On April 21, the men said good-bye to their winter station and moved southwest, stopping occasionally for a few days' break. Andy was promoted to corporal on May 2. On May 5, the regiment stopped at Limatola, about 50 kilometres northeast of Naples. Any hope for an extended rest was put aside as they began a week of training in river crossing. They were being prepared for a push to take Rome and were happy to be a part of it. The aim was to take Cassino, 70 kilometres northeast. During the winter, the Americans and the British had tried repeatedly to take the city, but without success. The coming attack was also to try to divert as many German resources as possible to the region, to weaken the defence for the coming invasion of Normandy in June.

 

On the night of May 11, a bombardment of Cassino began. The Canadians were to be held in reserve. The barrage had had some success and the Hasty Ps moved forward on May 14 to the Gari River which the Americans had already crossed. On May 16, the regiment moved forward through the town of Pignataro which had been captured by the Indian army. With the cover of the British 142nd Tank Regiment, the Hasty Ps were to push northward to the Hitler Line, a German defensive stronghold. Ahead of them was flat farmland with Germans on surrounding cliffs. The regiment advanced in smoke screens and Charlie company went so far ahead that it risked being cut off. The line between the Allies and the enemy was blurred and the regiment suffered forty men injured or killed in the first few hours of the May 17 attack. Andy took a gunshot wound to the abdomen and sadly died the next day. The battle of Cassino was a success by May 18 with the town captured and the Canadians breached the Hitler Line on May 24 allowing the Americans to liberate Rome in June.