I mentioned getting to a mobile bath. That was a chance to get a scrubbing that was much better then a gallon heated out side on a gasoline fire and standing in your bare hide trying to reach all areas without some dropping off with the cold.
The first mobile bath we went to was on Ortona front. We as troops or a percentage of the unit went to Lanciano, a very old city. Parts of this city predated Rome and other equally ancient sites. Well our introduction to the mobile bath was one where you stripped down in a large tent and walked into another canvas sided structure where off to on side was a diesel fired boiler that supplied the hot water to a great number of shower heads. I would think at least forty men showered at the same time. The 4th, 8th ,and10th Indian troops showered in an adjoining shower partly screened from us. The Indian troops showered with their underwear on. I forget the religious reason or what, but they, like we, were showered and issued clean underwear.
Also while I'm at it in Lanciano I went to the fig market. Now I love dried figs and here were figs of every color it seemed from white to all shades of brown, great mounds of them. Oh yes I bought some and enjoyed them. Then it was on to the Piazza and the shops had just opened after the siesta time. I went into a barber shop mainly I think because all the barbers were girls, Could they ever wield the old straight razors, so with a shave and a haircut I went out on the street.
Here on the street I saw a group of girls swarming after a young Italian man, who I was told was a Italian movie star. The chaps that I was with thought the ladies should have been bestowing their charm on us, but it was not to be. Darn IT!
Some time in March we put on a firing scheme with the infantry units, and General Hoffmeister strode in front with these infantry men to show how close you could walk behind a barrage. I must say we always took great care in seeing our guns did not fire short killer rounds.
In April we moved to the hilltop city of Campobasso. Here was a town that the First Division had ceased after much fighting. They then established a leave centre here ,. The Canada Club, Beaver Club. We had some dances and quite a lot of charming girls were able to attend them but I believe they were chaperoned ,