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or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com. It's the night of October 22nd, 1917, at the mountainous border between Italy and Austria-Hungary,

three years into World War I. Under the cover of darkness, German army officer Ervin Rommel leads a column of soldiers up the slopes of the Alps.

A few of the troops slow as the terrain grows increasingly rugged and steep, but Rommel gestured for them to push on.

The climb may be arduous, but there's no time to take a break.

Though the Germans can't quite see them through the darkness,

the unsuspecting Italian army is stationed in the valley below. Rommel's troops need to make it

to the top of the mountain before the sun reveals their presence and foils the major assault

they planned with their ally, Austria-Hungary, against their common enemy, Italy. So the men

trudge on until a sudden beam of light

sweeps across the mountainside. Rommel recognizes it as an Italian search line. He throws himself

to the ground and rushes for cover. As he dives under a bush, he resists the urge to check

if his men were also able to hide. The risk of moving is too high.

Silently counting the seconds go by, Rommel's muscles twitch as he tries to stay perfectly still.

Though he dares not look, Rommel can hear the faint metallic echoes of the Italians adjusting

their searchlight. As the beam of light roams the mountainside,

Rommel also thinks he can hear the rustle of one of his soldiers. He squeezes his eyes shut,

praying none of his men will get spotted. The roving light flickers weakly a few times,

and then disappears, plunging the slope back into darkness. Rommel cautiously raises his head before standing to his

feet and gesturing for his men to do the same. The German soldiers regroup and carry on their journey,

...