Sauntering in southern Italy in 1944, enjoying the sun and a smoke, two British soldiers were foraging. They and thousands of other Allied troops were involved in perhaps the bloodiest of all the battles fought to liberate Europe—the siege of Monte Cassino.

But they weren’t alone. The pair jumped as a brown mass caught their eye, walking right up behind them. Pressing themselves against some bushes, they shouted to warn an artillery battery up ahead. A pretty dangerous looking creature was headed their way.

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